90 days were over again and I had to go abroad once more. Well, Nicaragua is still the closest country to go to and still the one of the cheapest. But this time Cristian came with me, thank God!
Our plan was to go to San Juan del Sur (a town on the Pacific side) to go surfing. But after we had brought Nala to a friend, parked the car somewhere close to the bus station, we realized that Cristian had forgotten his body board. So, we got back into the car, went back home, took the board and returned to the bus station. Fortunately, we still caught the bus in time.
At the border it was the usual: Waiting in confusing lines in a dusty and hot place. And again: If you want to get into Nicaragua, you have to pay! (Getting into Costa Rica is for free: I love this country!)
After paying, we went straight to one of the old chicken busses and Cristian wondered if this was a regular bus. Bus yes, it was. Nearly all the busses in Nicaragua are old, dirty, uncomfortable and noisy school busses from the US. The bus brought us to the crossroad which leads to San Juan del Sur. There we were sitting in the sun and waiting for the bus. However, after half an hour it still wasn't there, but a taxi stopped and offered us a very good price. So, with more comfort and just a little more expense we went to San Juan del Sur. There we quickly found a hostel which had private rooms. Per night we paid $20 for the both of us.
The receptionist said that at the beach in San Juan del Sur are just little waves and to go surfing we would have to go to another beach. Cristian was very disappointed. But when we took a walk to the beach, he regreted that he hadn't taken his board with him because the waves were not so small and would have been perfect for body surfing.
Although the waves in San Juan del Sur weren't so bad, we decided to see another beach. So, on the second day we went to the beach of Maderas. The waves were quite big and fast. Too much for me. I decided to stay in the shade and have a few beers. At the end of the day, Cristian and I were completely fried by the sun. Cristian hadn't even put sunscreen although he was in the sun all day. So yes, Latinos can also get sunburned!
On the next day we stayed in San Juan del Sur and I also did some surfing.
San Juan del Sur doesn't really offer anything else except the beach, a big statue of a nun on top of a mountain and little stalls that sell expensive jewellery.
So, and why do I hate it? Well, let's say it like this: Costa Rica wants tourism and therefore tourists are treated like kings. Nicaragua accepts tourism and treats their tourists like crap. Especially when you are travelling with a Costa Rican. Nicaraguans hate Costa Ricans because Costa Rica is much richer. There are thousands of Nicaraguans trying to get a work permit for Costa Rica and there are thousands of Nicaraguans who are illegally working in Costa Rica. Whenever I have to run an errand to get my residencia/work permit, I am always the only non-Nicaraguan person there. So, most Nicaraguans we met were unfriendly and unwilling to provide a good service.
On the way back to the Costa Rican border, we took two taxis. One from San Juan del Sur to the crossroad again and the other one from the crossroad to the border. Usually the taxis charge up to $25 from the border to San Juan del Sur, but if you take two taxis and the taxi already has one or two people in it, then they go down with the prices a lot. And we ended up paying $5 for getting to the border and only paid about $1 more than we would have in a bus.
To get out of Nicaragua you have to pay again. And then I finally was in Costa Rica again. I have never been that happy to be back home!
I might have to go abroad one more time before I have my residencia. And I'm thinking about going to Panama then!
