Vacay Visitations, part 3: Travels and Adventures to the border

Costa Rica to Nicaragua... Friday, Dec 30:

We arose just before 4 and started packing, then going to catch the passing bus off the peninsula and back to Liberia ($2.50 each), arriving at 7am, in perfect time to catch the 7:10 bus for the border (for $3 each). Crowded bus. Stood until a seat became available (Alex remained standing for the duration of the 90 minute ride), and I sat next to a Nicaraguan woman, Valencia, with whom I connected. She is the mother of a 4-year-old boy, Francisco Luis, and wife of a Tico. They were our border-crossing guides/buddies, since I have never crossed the CR-Nica border without the aid of a bus company that organizes passport stamping/border crossing fees/navigates baggage checks, etc.

Waiting at the bus stop in Brasilito at 4:45am.

Watching the sun rise from the bus window was nice though. 

We arrived at the Peñas Blancas border crossing at around 8:30/9 and followed the fam through. Quick and easy "bag check" and passport passed through a couple of officials’ hands because Valencia’s husband does the border crossing frequently for work and therefore knows a bunch of the officials. It was a quick CR exit stamping and then we walked across the border to the Nica entrance side, where we stood in line around 45 min, filling out customs/immigration forms, paying $12 each to come into Nicaragua, getting passports stamped, and tourist visas granted.

This photo, taken on our return trip, was where we waited in a line for 45 minutes
to get stamped into Nicaragua after crossing out of Costa Rica.

The border was deserted when we took this photo on our return crossing,
but this is what no-man's land in between CR and Nica looks like.

Left the border crossing area, paid $1 for little boletos (tickets for the alcaldia/local city, which thank goodness we saved!). Got on a bus around 10am, with the family, headed for Masaya, which was further than we needed to go, but we figured we’d just hop off outside the entrance to Granada, which is 45 minutes before Masaya. Wish I had a photo to depict this ride...

It was a super crowded. Alex stood again. I sat next to a man with some serious skin infections. The fam sat adjacent. Apparently long trips are perfect for exchanging silly faces with a four-year-old from across a crowded aisle. 90 minutes of entertainment until he conked out. We had barely paid our $8 each and told the ticket taker where we were getting off before we said a hasty goodbye and many thanks conveyed with rushed looks of gratitude to the family as we jumped off the bus, when it came to a rolling stop outside the crossroads of the Pan-American highway and the carretera (highway/main road) to Granada. “Hurry up, lady” was shouted at me as I gathered stuff and tried to get off the jam-packed bus.

This is where we jumped off a slowly-moving bus. Crossroads of where and where?
(Later discovered we were on the Pan-American and crossed over to the Carretera Vieja a Granada)

At the crossroads where we were dumped, about 8-15km out of Granada (the responses varied depending in who I asked near the mini super at the intersection where we were dropped), I asked around where the nearest bus stop was. Saw no buses, nor many cars trafficking the road at all for that matter. We did see the tuk tuk canopy mini taxis. Also a group of three gringo looking people…. Who turned out to be deaf. I finger-spelled/lip read until we decided to all hitchhike into Granada together (although $6/each per tuk tuk taxi ride into Granada didn’t sound too bad!)

The approximate location where we hitch hiked from the corner,
with three deaf fellow travelers. 

The white truck that stopped to pick us up was crammed full with Nicaraguans in the cab, and two teenage boys in the back with what appeared to be either bags of trash or Christmas presents. (We didn’t find out until later in the trip that one of the boys in the back with us spoke perfect English, as he was from LA). The good Samaritans took us all the way into the Parque Central in Granada, and would accept nothing other than our verbal thanks and appreciation.

Winded out in the back of the truck in which we hitched a ride.

Our deaf traveling companions for the duration of the ride.

The kid from LA who was also in the back of the truck.

We went directly to the office of the reservations host for the Villas at Apoyo, where we were to be spending New Year’s. Arriving earlier than expected, around 12:30, we dropped our stuff there and went into town: ate lunch at an upscale bistro, walked around Granada for the next couple hours exploring and wandering, had Alex sample a raspado (think icee/slushy/ice cone). Back to the office just before three to take a $30 taxi ride to the Villas. In a Chevy standard car. Boy with Christian music driving it couldn't handle a stick.

Woo hooooo! SO excited to be in Granada after a long morning of travel!

FOOD in Granada!

Parque Central de Granada, mercado/artesanía/fería

With his raspado.

Taxi arriving at the Villas at Apoyo near Caterina, Masaya, Nicaragua
35 min out of Granada.

Arrived at the villas around 3:45 and immediately saw my cousin Matt, his wife Brie, her sister Tamara, and their baby Max. We settled in and had dinner, sharing conversation and catching up with family while hanging out at the infinity poolside up the side of the crater. (The resort is located up the side of the crater that holds a volcanic lake/lagoon, the perfect swimming temperature on hot, humid days!).

Tamara (Brie's sister), me, and Alex chilling by the Grill/poolside on our first night.
(Photo by Brie)

The pool overlooking the Laguna (cousin Matt in the pool at sunset).

This was baby cousin Max (first cousin, once-removed)
at dinner the first night. All smiles!

We had arrived at our New Year's destination!

At the lakeside of the Laguna de Apoyo, in the crater of a dormant volcano.

The reception area of the Villas at Apoyo (with Martin to the far right)

We slept hard that night after all that travel!