This evening we just arrived home from a 12 hour trip back from Costa Rica. We needed to take this trip so I can keep driving on my tourist visa. We were going to dive there but learned at the last minute that since we were not residents yet of Panama we would not be allowed to take the car into Costa Rica. So we rode the bus. We were also going to leave on Tuesday, but after prayer decided on to leave on Wednesday. Shortly after making that decision we learned that a union was going to have a major strike that Tuesday, potentially shutting down traffic across the nation. So we woke up about 4AM, left at 4:30 and walked to the bus stop getting there just before 5AM. We caught the bus we thought we wanted. Well, it turned out it took the long way to the terminal - just over 2.5 hours instead of 1.5 hours. But, as it turned out, our bus was going to leave in a half hour, and we would have missed the previous one anyway. So we got on the bus to the border of Panama and Costa Rica. We had some idea what to expect when we got there, and some is the operative word. When we got off the bus we looked at the return schedule so we would have some idea when to return. On leaving Panama no one was in line in front of us. We got our stamps, pictures taken, and that was that. No luggage inspection, nothing to declare. We walked the few blocks through zany traffic. If we didnt know where we were going and what to look for it would have been impossible to find unless you spoke Spanish and asked. Even so, we only had some idea and found the entrance into Costa Rica line at passport control. Really, only some control. Anyone could walk out of either country and walk into the other one with no one even bothering to stop them or question them. There was about a couple of hundred yards of free zone that was a buffer between the two checkpoints. This zone had no controls on who entered it or left it, in either direction. So, we got our passports stamped, while some of the things we expected to happen, like luggage declarations/inspections, fees, and long lines were conspicuous in their absence. So we found the bus going to Neily where we were planning on staying the night. It is the first town inside the border. The terminal was right across the road from the hotel. So we walked over to and found it full. It is always full. The owner connected us up with her older sister who rented rooms - kinda like a bed and breakfast. Her husband came and picked us up and drove us the 5 blocks to their home. We had to change money into the Costa Rican currency. Found an ATM that worked and got us some cash. Ate at a restaurant. The next morning found out about a place called the Wilson Botanical Garden in a place called San Vito. San Vito is up in the high hills where the climate is cooler. So we took another bus to the gardens, about an hour and a half of switchbacks. Great views! Malana sat next to a teacher who quizzed her on some oddities of American politics, electoral college as one, and they chatted away for ever. The whole bus listened in. He made sure we found the right stop and in we walked to the gardens. Fantastic place! Look it up. That is all I can say. Im getting tired of writing so the next installment will be tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 03:22:46 +0000