Songs from the Olive Branch: Frontera

We have tourist visas, which means we have to go outside of the C-4 region every 90 days and stay for 3 days. We either have to fly somewhere, or cross the border at Mexico or Costa Rica. This time we chose Costa Rica. We packed our backpacks, got our passports ready, and headed out on our journey accompanied by our friend Allie from Minnesota.

Central America is a funny character. It is brightly colored, full of volcanoes and bean farms. There are many foods made of corn, and all the beer tastes like bread. The people are, overall, simpler and more optimistic. It is disorganized. No one fixes their car until it breaks down. Stray dogs are everywhere, staring you in the face and hoping for a tortilla.

Here are a few of our mishaps and adventures from the past week.

San Salvador to Managua: is a 12 hour bus ride, supposedly. We crossed the borders of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. There is nothing more depressing and disorganized than a Central American border. We had to get out of the bus twice with our bags (every border has different requirements it seems), and they "searched the bags". This often consisted of the border police unzipping the bag, gazing into it, and saying "go on". At one border, they asked everyone's nationality, pulled the Mexicans aside, and proceeded to search each part of their suitcase and ask them many questions. Racial profiling is much more blatant on the border.

The long walk home: was supposed to take 20 minutes and took an hour and 15. We were on Isla Ometepe. It was 4PM, we had explored a lagoon reserve and swam in a beautiful cove. A tour guide stopped us on the road and asked if we wanted a ride. We wanted to see one more thing before we headed back to Mayogalpa. He dropped us off at a dirt road and said, "this is beautiful place to take pictures. It's just some...20 minute walk back to town". Ok sounds great! The Punta Jesus Maria was in fact incredibly beautiful, there was a sandbar that led out to what felt like the middle of the lake. The sun was warm, painting everything yellow and red as the sun set. We enjoyed the view a bit too long, and began the walk home. "some...20 minutes" turns into a long walk in the dark. Thankfully Ometepe is fairly safe and there were still bicyclists out and about. We stopped and asked for directions a couple of times, and every time people insisted that it was "some...10 minutes or so". We of course made it to the hotel safe and sound, with time to get together with new friends from Switzerland.

We were between countries: and what a strange feeling it was. Border crossing is easier if you are with a bus company. From Nicaragua to Costa Rica, we were on our own. The dirt road, the chaos of travelers lost, the occasional border police. We crossed through the Nicarguan exit easily enough, and then headed out to find the Costa Rica entrance. Where was it? There were various buildings around, trucks and buses, but no signs. After asking 3 people we finally found the right direction and walked a few football fields in the heat of the sun. We bought our bus ticket on to Costa Rica. The woman insisted that we should just get on the bus, but what was that big building with no sign? The entrance to Costa Rica, of course. We waited in line, got our long stamp, and headed onto the bus and away from Pergatory.

The price you pay: for making reservations. I had reserved a dorm room at Pure Vibes Backpacker's Hostel, because everything in Playa del Coco seemed very expensive. We arrived, and were impressed by the nice wooden doors, the pretty pool, the restaurant with Jamaican food. After paying and getting our key, the staff explained that our room was in another building a block away. We walked over to a junky house with a "FOR SALE" sign outside. The staff explained that we would have to go around back to get in. The room was tiny, with 4 beds and a dirty floor. I took a shower and the shower rod fell off the moment I touched it. Our beds were concave. We asked for our money back within an hour. The charismatic owner explained "sorry, we don't give money back, it's just not our policy". He is the kind of person that, no matter how angry you are, you can't help but smile and agree with him. We attempted sleeping in our bunk beds that night. The beds creaked everytime someone moved. There was a ceiling fan, but it was not functional. I woke up 3 times covered in sweat. When we decided to leave the next day, he gave us $20 as a parting gift. Thanks?

On to Playa Hermosa: or so we thought. I had made a reservation. It would cost a little more than the hostel, but it was a quieter, less touristed beach. We hopped in our $10.00 taxi, and when we arrived we could not find the hotel. He called the owner, where is this place? Near Tienda Juan Carlos, she said. Well I'm at Tienda Hermosa, he said. Which Playa Hermosa are you in? she asked. I had made a reservation at a beach 5 hours away. Laughing, the taxi driver insisted we go back to Playa del Coco and he would help us find a cheap place to stay. All the landlords at Playa Hermosa are American, he said. It's overpriced. Finally, we arrived at a small 10 room hotel. For $40, we enjoyed air conditioning and cable TV, and no squeaky bunk beds. Our taxi driver charged us $20.00, so there went the money from the hostel we had received. Ah well.

The most interesting hike: was to Cascada Cangrejo in Costa Rica. The rich rainforest, the monkeys, the birds. Then it opened up to mountains, yellow rocks, big pointy green plants. Finally we ended up at the waterfall, with beautiful clear water. After 4 hours of hiking in the misty rain and sun, I felt renewed.

Where is the bus: we arrived at the address we were given. A hostel with a Tica Bus sign outside. The man explained that we had 4 hours until we left Costa Rica, and we needed to walk to the McDonald's. "The Nicaraguan Tica Bus staff are not trained. They don't know anything about Costa Rica". Ok. Fair enough. We made it to Managua in time to enjoy a night at the Puerto Salvador Allende.

Time to go home: We had one more long bus ride - Managua to San Salvador. We left at 5AM. 2 hours outside of Managua, we pulled over. I was in the bathroom when the power cut out, meaning I couldn't even flush the toilet. The battery was dead, that was obvious. But where were the jumper cables, and where were the extra batteries? There weren't any. The bus driver proceeded to get out his bus driver manual, and they tried for an hour to get the battery working. They never once announced to the passengers what was happening, or apologized. Almost 5 hours after we stopped, the mechanic from Managua arrived in a taxi with 2 new batteries. Within 15 minutes we were ready to go again. They played non-stop movies in an attempt to distract the passengers from their frustration. It almost worked! We arrived in Suchitoto at 10:30PM. It was a sweet, sweet sleep.