I left Nicaragua tuesday morning at 8:30 am. Took a taxi to the border, got an exit stamp, walked across to Costa Rica and was greeted by a MASSIVE line of people waiting. I did not move for one hour. Everyone was telling different stories about what was going on. After about 4 hours and still hardly moving I was starting to think I was going to have to spend the night there. Apparently the computers were down and there was electrical problems. There was probably only one person working and no police or anything around to regulate what was happening. The back of the line was pretty orderly, people waiting patiently in the hot sun not really caring to question whats going on, stuff like this just happens. The front was more chaos, people raming the doors, they ended up closing the offices. They were taking 20 passports at a time then coming back and handing them out. Crazyness. Maybe a 100 people got in this way and there was probably at least 500 in line by midday. Then they closed for lunch, 2 hours. After the doors reopened they were only taking bribes. People were paying $50 to get in and they did the rest of us just waiting while they made as much money as they could.
Finally at 4:30 the line started moving, all the windows were open and they were just stamping passports like crazy. I´m pretty sure no one had a problem getting into Costa Rica that day, apart from the waiting in line in the heat and filth.
Since it was getting dark by the time I was permitted into the country I spent the night in Liberia, took a hot babying crying bus to Alajuela yesterday morning and am now 2 hours away from going to the airport.
As much as going home feels strange because its been so long. I cannot wait to get into my bed and wash all the smelly grossness in my backpack and enjoy a hot shower without the fear that it will turn ice cold any minute, drink the tap water, put toilet paper in the toilet and many other small pleasures like these.
I left Honduras about 2 weeks ago and came back to Nicaragua. After the revisit 2 months later I can still say that Nicaragua is my favourite country. Despite being the poorest, dirtiest and the most in need of help in development and education. (Recycling here, which is advertised everywhere, consists of them at least separating the plastics from the garabe, throwing them into a separate recycling designated field and lighting it on fire).
Spent a few days in Leon which was just as hot as I remembered it being. Climbed Cerro Negro, the active volcano close by, walked around in the sulphur smoke filled crater, nearly toppled over the edge from the intense winds then ran down the whole thing.
Then went back to Granada which is just a boring as I remembered it being, but still pretty in its colonial way.
From there to Laguna de Apoyo, beautiful, really cool hostel, cooked delishious food, swam, tanned, read, drank, kayaked, etc. Good times.
And finally for the last week I´ve been in San Juan del Sur a hot a sunny beach/surf town. But there have been some really really strong winds that it makes going to the beach nearly impossible, you put on your sunscreen or come out of the ocean (which is pins and needles cold right now, my feet went numb I have NO idea how people were surfing without wetsuits) and you are instantly (as someone in the hostel just put it) ¨tarred and feathered with sand¨.
I almost got a tattoo....but its closed today and SADDEST NEWS OF IT ALL....tomorrow I´m making my way back to San Jose for my last day then flying home on thursday.
This does not in the slightest way seem real to me. I think because I´m not even in the country Im flying out of it seems so far away but I will within a matter of hours tomorrow be in the last hostel I will stay in for my trip, eat my last plate of rice and beans, speak my last bit of spanish and peace back to Canada.
8 months. I has been 8months and the thought of going home, though yes exciting for all the comforts and not living out of a backpack purposes, sounds good, is just WEIRD more than anything. That´s all I can really say, it´s just weird. Everything is simple here. And home is soo....complex. Deep I know.
I think the sun has not only fried my hair and skin but my mind too. Or maybe its the Flor de Caña.
