Costa Rica (or as we like to call it Cara Rica)

There are two countries in Central America that people talk about as expensive, these are Belize and Costa Rica.  We thought we would be ready for the sticker shock but found ourselves frustrated at times by what felt like the constant "Pay to Play" mentality of the country.  If we wanted to go for a hike, we had to pay, if we wanted to see a free thing, well the parking was eye-wateringly expensive.  The country is nice and we would recommend it as a great vacation spot but for us it seemed to be more of a highlight reel of many other Central American touristy spots at higher costs.  Due to our shipping date we could only spend a week in Costa Rica, which originally we were saddened about, but in the end felt that we probably would have left pretty quickly anyway.  If you are wondering why we called it Cara Rica, in spanish cara means expensive and rica means rich.
During our time in Cara Rica we explored the beaches on each coast in between line ups in the capital city completing paperwork required to import Rupert into Panama.  We drove into cloud forests in the mountains and saw Costa Rican wildlife, namely Sloths!

May 3^rd – WHERE IS TECHNICA!?!!!

We woke up early as we had read that leaving Nicaragua can take hours. The moment we got to the border we were confused.  The border was massive a spread out over multiple locations.  As usual, there we many “fixers” also known as “helpers” who for a cost will help you cross the border.  The issue, they can be a bit scamming and purposely deceptive to confuse you if you are not paying for their “service”.  After reading and rereading instructions that past travelers and written in iOverlander we made our way to the gates of the border area where we were handed a declaration paper for customs where we declared the dog and the vehicle.  After parking a customs agent explained our process (for customs).  He will inspect our vehicle, a police officer will inspect our vehicle, we will go to ISPA for our dog then we will go to Technica.  We had almost memorized the instructions from iOverlander and we had never heard of Technica, we felt like were in the dark.

After a quasi thorough inspection Paul left to find a police officer to sign off on our inspection.  They were no where to be found.  Paul walked back and forth through immigration (without completing the immigration process) looking, even hoping to attract the attention of a police officer by walking in directions where signs said not to walk. 

After 30 minutes Paul gave up as we could complete the exportation process of Rupert by going to IPSA.  After 10 minutes of walking we found IPSA and after a painful process where the IPSA officer seemed to do everything Cetrex had done the day before we were back on the hunt for a police officer, but this time there was one with the customs officer who had previously inspected our vehicle.  Happily, Paul ran up to him, but was then informed that the process that we were literally just told about was wrong, he had to go to Technica before the police would sign off on the vehicle.  Paul asked everyone “Where is Technica” and was given directions like “over there” “in that building [the biggest building at the border]” or general pointing (once in the wrong direction).

We gave up on the search for Technica and decided to do immigration, after waiting in line and paying an exit tax we were officially not legal to be in Nicaragua.  By this time Paul had attracted the attention of a woman taking fees for the municipal government who took pity on him and tried to get to the bottom of the location of Technica.  After a few more minutes we finally found a little window beside Customs on the Entrance to Nicaragua side of the immigration building.  He looked at the declaration form and stamped it.  THAT WAS IT!?!  I was told it was because I had declared the dog and his job was to check that I had the stamp from ISPA (as if the stamp from IPSA wasn’t proof enough!?!).

After that point, the process flew by, the police inspected our vehicle, and we were waved across the border to Costa Rica.

Immigration into Costa Rica was easy and modern.  After a few quick questions we had new stamps in our passport.  Next was the dog, which thanks to the proper export of Rupert from Nicaragua only required a stamp and the equivalent of $20 CAD which could be paid at a bank at the border (meaning we could also take out local currency for future purchases!)  The van was also easy to import as we got to fill in our own form meaning we could quickly answer all the questions on the form without the back and forth that we had become used to with Custom agents. While Paul filled in the form Kendra got some photocopies done of our proof of cancelling our TIP all on her own (which is a hug accomplishment for her). Our only issue was due to the amount of time it took us to leave Nicaragua the vehicle insurance office was on lunch meaning we had to wait for almost an hour until they were open again before we could legally drive in Costa Rica. WE had read they go on lunch from 12-1, but today lunch was from 10:45-11:30, give or take 20 minutes.

After such a stressful day we were finally driving south again.  Our first stop was Walmart for some food and it was just like any Walmart we had seen in Mexico, the US or Canada.  It was surreal to be in a store so westernized after driving through the developing nations of Central America.   Our next stop was for our own lunch, even though it was almost dinner by this point. Lastly we stopped and picked up some local wine known as Vino de Coyol (which reminded us a lot of Makgeolli [Korean rice wine])

We would have liked to find a nice place to camp after grabbing some food but our priority for Costa Rica had to be Rupert and getting that process done quickly which can only be done in San Jose, hundreds of kilometers from the border.  We ended up driving for hours skipping a few highly recommended locations in Costa Rica to end up on a beach in an ocean bay.  It was a long day, but at least we had a great camping spot close-ish to San Jose to start the export process for Rupert to get to Panama.

 

May 4^th – The Dog Days of Costa Rica (Part 1)

Panama requires dogs to have a Certificate of Exportation, signed off by both a registered vet and a governmental body responsible for vets or animal welfare.  This alone would be a painful process, but this certificate must then be apostilled by the Embassy of Panama or their designate.  We had read that some vets will complete this whole process for us but the cost would be around $300 usd and will take around a week if we were in San Jose or longer if we were not in San Jose, hence why we planned to be in San Jose today.

Thanks to iOverlander we had read that there is a very good vet in the community of Atenas, a bedroom community of San Jose who speaks English and has some friends in SENASA (the governmental body responsible for animal welfare).  From our understanding he would be able to help us get 2/3 of the requirements for our export document.

Once again we had an early morning so that we could get to Atenas as early as possible.  Our research paid off and the vet was just as helpful as everyone had told us he would be, the only issue is it would take a few hours to prepare the documents, so we had some time to kill.

Atenas is small but cute with lots of restaurants and cafes, so we spent a couple hours spending a small fortune on coffee and sandwiches and a local coffee beer.  This is probably the first time it truly hit us how expensive Costa Rica was, for a couple coffees and sandwiches it was over $40 CAD.  Regardless, we were happy to pay it as it was one of the first time in a long time we were less concerned about getting the dog into Costa Rica; for the first time in a long time, we felt like we had a plan and it was possible to complete our plan within our “crazy” one week timeline.

The final task we completed while waiting for the dog’s paperwork was a car wash for the van.  Our van was filthy from all the dirt roads we had driven on in the past 10 months (we had the outside hand washed by some street vendors in exchange for parking but they are not super thorough), but we forgot one key thing about Central American car washes, they don’t just wash the outside of your vehicle, they clean the inside too.  Because we didn’t think of this our clothes, specifically dirty underwear was in the doorways of the van.  Our garbage from the last few days and nights was in a bag tucked under the bed.  The inside of the van looked very “lived in” and definitely not in a good way.  We could only look in slight horror and embarrassment as these poor employees cleaned our very dirty vehicle inside and out.  We didn’t even mind when they charged us appropriately ($35) for our filth.

At 6:30pm we got the call that our paperwork for Rupert was complete and we were told that the best way to ensure the paperwork is completed by Friday was to drive to San Jose tonight and go to SENASA tomorrow morning when it opened (7:30am) then go to Casa Amarilla (the Yellow House) to get the document apostilled.  We felt very fortunate that the vet confirmed which SENASA office we needed to go to, since previously people have been able to go to the airport but now you need to go into the city to the head office. Thank goodness he has friends who knew what we needed to do and he could share this knowledge with us. The vet felt that, with a little luck, it may be possible to get the document complete for a successful, and legal export of Rupert, within a few days.

Sunset had started when we left Atenas meaning it was pitch black when we arrived in San Jose, meaning we were breaking the cardinal rule of overlanding; do not drive at night.  We convinced ourselves this was fine as this was for a special reason and Paul had decided to book a hotel relatively close to SENASA.  Unfortunately, when we arrived to San Jose and the hotel Paul had booked we learned that in his haste to book something affordable he had selected the wrong days and the hotel was completely full. 

Thanks to iOverlander we found a quiet safe spot to camp in an industrial area of San Jose and for the first time in months we stealth camped in a major city.

 

May 5^th – The Conclusion of the Dog Days

We woke up early to arrive at SENASA before they opened.  The security guard hadn’t even gotten to his post yet so after we parked we were asked to move to the actual visitor parking lot.  He was very apologetic and even offered us a bathroom and water!  Exactly what people who literally slept on the street (in a van) need in the morning!

The process to get SENASA to sign off on Rupert’s exportation to Panama went pretty fast, other then a little bit of confusion.  Paul thought they told him to find Colleague 6-12 to pay for the export so ended up wandering around the SENASA building aimlessly for a few minutes until someone helped him.  What they had actually told was to return to their Colleague he had already met and quote C-12, the code that their colleague will put into the computer so Paul can be charged and pay correctly for the export.

Our next step was the Yellow House, also known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (and Worship), but we encountered an issue.  To get a document apostilled we had to have an appointment and there were not appointments available for over a week.  Paul tried to reason with the Security guard at the door to make an exception or if there was another way but in the end Paul was turned away.

There was some small hope, Paul was given a phone number of someone who may be able to help the situation, but we didn’t have any phones with minutes so we needed to purchase another SIM card.  We also thought we could skip this whole process and get approval right from the Embassy of Panama.  We had read that is the process that most people follow if they are going to Panama from Canada or the United States and right before leaving the SENASA office, the SENASA officers told him that the next step was to go to the Embassy of Panama.  We raced to the Embassy of Panama (partly because we hadn’t paid for parking and had parked in a zone requiring payment much to the anger of a parking enforcement person) but were told that the only way to get to document finalized in Costa Rica was to get it apostilled at the Yellow House.   We still had the phone number to try to call and book an appointment so we went to a Claro store (one of the main phone companies in Central America) and purchased a Costa Rica SIM card with some minutes and called the number.  By some unbelievable luck the man on the other end of the phone took pity on us and our situation and told us to return at 2:50pm for an emergency appointment.  We were ecstatic! 

We had a few errands to do between the time we called the Yellow House and 3pm which we filled with an oil change and getting our vehicle looked at.  Since the thorough washing of our van the tailgate sensor started to stop working or work excessively- however it was working; it wasn’t working right.  Even when the tailgate was latched, the van would tell us it was not, giving us an annoying DING and keeping the dome light on.   We also had a recurring issue with our airbag sensor (something we first noticed July 6^th!!)  If we have a power inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter (which we learned is officially called the Auxiliary Power Outlet) it would periodically (and rarely) cause the airbag sensor light to come on- if you Google what to do when your airbag sensor is on Google (and our mechanically inclined family) say not to drive and have it looked at immediately.  We had seen that there was a Dodge dealership in San Jose so hoped that the manufacturer could help us, but unfortunately they did not. We were told that they would have to seek permission from Dodge Central America to look at our Dodge Canada/North American model vehicle; a process that could take 4 days or so.  We decided to start the process to get permission for them hoping that by Monday (today being Friday) they would be able to look at the van.

We arrived back to the Yellow House at 2:30 and anxiously waited until our appointment time.  Ten minutes before Paul made his way to the lobby where a new security guard told him that his name was not on the list and he was not told about any emergency 3:00pm appointment.  Once again Paul pleaded, explained the situation and how we were supposedly given an emergency appointment.  The Security Guard left to see what he could find out and after what seemed like an eternity returned allowing Paul inside the lobby.  Within 10 minutes Paul walked out with a massive smile on his face.  We had done the impossible! We had properly prepared the export paperwork for Rupert a process that takes many people 10 days and costs triple what it costed us in just over 24 stressful hours.

We decided to return to the beach side camping spot we had stayed at our first night in Costa Rica to maximize our potential options for the next day meaning we had a 2.5 hour drive.  This drive was exhausting and made worse that the stress and worry about getting the dog into Panama was all but gone.  When we did arrive it took us barely anytime to fall asleep.

May 6^th – The Beach or the Mountains

We had to make a decision and both options seemed pretty good.  Option 1, head north into the mountains of Monteverde known for its lush green forest, mountain towns and it’s cloud forest.  Option 2, head south to the Nicoya Peninsula and explore beaches where we would likely have the entire beach to ourselves.  Both seemed like great options but in the end we choose option 1 due to the heat.  At 9am it was already 32 degrees.

The road up to the mountains was fine, it wasn’t in great or bad condition and wasn’t as extreme or memorable as the Guatemalan mountain roads.  Within a couple hours we were in the community of Monteverde and parked in the parking lot to visit the official Monteverde Reserve to walk amongst the clouds in the forest.  We were a bit shocked at the price, $25 usd to go on a hike, but realized our fear of missing out was greater than our frugality.  The place boasted it’s “extensive” 13 kilometres of trails, so after looking at the map we plotted our journey and began our ascent up into the clouds/forest. 

The first path ended at viewpoint where clouds slowly blow into the forest with a few spots where it felt we were walking through a cloud forest.  We decided to return through a couple other pathways but none had views or the experiences we had hoped for.  We even decided to take the most difficult trail that would take us to the highest point on the trail system in hopes of an amazing view, but surprisingly their was no viewpoint and very few clouds. We did get to see a lot of trees and hear the birds.  What was there were giant flies with stingers for a mouth that refused to leave us alone.  At some points it felt like we were running as if we stopped we got stung.  There was a waterfall in the reserve as well but it was nothing compared to other waterfalls on our trip; even when compared to the wateralls with little to no water.  In the end we did 10 kilometers of its 13 kilometers and felt disappointed we had spent $50 usd on this experience.

Monteverde was not what we had expected, it was a modern community where everything was pay to play.  If we wanted to do anything we had to pay for it, so we decided to go to a brewery and pay for some beers while we researched and prioritize our next activities.  After a lot of discussion, we decided to we would leave the area and prioritize our time elsewhere.  We left the brewery and made our way to a potential camping spot, unfortunately iOverlander was a bit out of date and everywhere on the app was no longer available or inaccessible to a 2 wheel drive vehicle.  We had to make a new plan.

We started to drive towards quieter less touristy mountain towns in hopes of finding something, and we did find something, another brewery.  We decided to once again stop and do a better job of looking at camping options in the area and in the end found one almost an hour away which had amazing views of the valley and mountains.  The reviews were correct, and after watching some locals do a motorcycle photoshoot we were happy to set up the van in the cool mountain temperatures hoping for a great night sleep.

 

May 7^th – What a view!!

The reviews of our campsite mentioned that the spot can be a bit windy.  Well there is windy and then there is wind that rocks the entire van effortlessly which woke us up periodically.  We still believe the views and the temperatures were worth a bit of wind.

We made our way to the less touristy community of Tilaran, which although cute did not provide us a lot to do.  What we did experience is poverty, something we didn’t think we would see very much of in Costa Rica. In the short time we have been here we have been asked for money multiple times a day, most of it being the same story that they need medication and can’t afford it, and when we say or show them we don’t have money they continue to ask and we unfortunately have to walk away. Most of the time this happens we are away from the van and taking Rupert for a walk, so we literally have no money  on us to give.   After grabbing a few groceries, we continued forward to Lake Arenal.   We had hoped to find a café to enjoy a coffee at while admiring the views but could only find the “Tourist Café” of Café Macadamia.  We weren’t too sure what to expect with tourist buses outside and English speakers everywhere but they did have delicious coffees and a good cinnamon bun.  The prices were a little eye watering but we did get to enjoy a great view of the lake.

Kendra had found a campground at a hot springs with what many described as one of the best views in Costa Rica.  They were not kidding, we set up our van in the shadow of Volcan Arenal and enjoyed the views while playing a few board games.  As the day got cooler we switched into our bathing suits and spent the rest of the night moving from pool to pool warming up and cooling off. 

After such an enjoyable evening we made sure to have a shower as the hot springs closed quite late and most people were drinking beer and not leaving the pools (yuck).  Although we were relaxed we did feel rather unclean.  Our regret was that we didn’t shower with our bathing suits as they had a unique odour to them that only got worse as we travelled.

 

May 8^th – Being true rebels

Our campground had wifi meaning we could see everything we could do in the La Fortuna area and were once again surprised at the cost of things.  If we wanted to see a waterfall it would be $25 usd, if we wanted to hike up the volcano it would be another $30 usd.  If we want to look at tress that may have sloths in them, well that is $50 usd.  We could go on, but in general everything seemed to cost money and we were unsure what would be worth it.   Slightly out of frustration we decided to hike to a waterfall recommended on iOverlander.  Theoretically if you get to it, it is free, but we would have to pass through private property to get to it.  We made a number of excuses to ourselves as to why we were going to trespass and made our way to the trailhead.

As we had guessed there was a massive gate at the trailhead clearly stating private property; however, beside the gate was a massive hole that could allow a small crowd to walk through.  Once again we justified our decision as it appeared many people walk through this property to get to this waterfall.

The hike itself was beautiful and well defined.  The only tricky part was a river crossing near the end of the trail which required us to carry Rupert over and resulted in our shorts getting soaked. *Paul’s shorts got soaked as he tried to take the most direct route across the river while Kendra hiked her shorts up and encouraged Paul to find a less deep area to cross at.

The waterfall was quite beautiful, the waterfall ended in a pool surrounded by a natural amphitheatre.  We decided to continue our rebellious way and go for a swim sin ropa.  It did feel quite freeing and refreshing.

We got back to the van with no issues, even passing another person on the trail. 

By saving a bit of money we decided to pay to see one of the most famous Volcano’s of Costa Rica, Volcan Poas.  Paul was conflicted about going as it was a 2 hour detour and there was no guarantee we would see anything due to potential cloud cover; however, Kendra vetoed Paul’s decision to skip it.

We arrived at the volcano and were immediately turned away, although nothing online said so, Dogs were not welcome anywhere in the area of the Volcano.  Not even in the parking lot (although a few years ago they were, now they are not- maybe due to the poisonous gases and the fact that this volcano was active in 2017 and closed to the public for a few years).  Thankfully the woman at the entrance gate allowed us to park on the road in front of the No Parking Sign meaning we continued our rebellious ways and didn’t have to pay for parking.  We did our quick hike up to the top of the Volcano and we were happy to see clear skies.  We truly lucked out especially after reading so many reviews of people paying money to see no more than 6 feet in front of their face.

It was time to find a spot to camp for the night and once again we struggled.  After stopping for some mountain strawberries and cream (aka sweetened condensed milk) and a tipico platter for dinner we hit the road again. We found a few potential locations, but with rain in the forecast and signage stating that the areas were prone to flooding we thought it best to seek a spot on higher ground, which we thankfully found right before sunset.

 

May 9^th – SLOTHS!!

Our time in Costa Rica was quickly coming to an end meaning we had a big day of driving.  We left the community of La Virgen destined for the coast, and after almost 4 hours we saw the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

Our first stop was a sloth sanctuary as we decided that seeing sloths at a not for profit organization trying to help them was better than all the for profit places we had passed.  We even lucked out with our timing as tours were every hour on the hour and it was almost noon. We parked outside of the sanctuary because online it states that dogs are not allowed, and dogs are not allowed in vehicles in their parking lot. Most of the sloths we saw were permanent residents, disfigured or blind due to negative human or dog interactions (maybe the reason why dogs are not allowed in the vicinity).  However, they still seemed to be living their best lives.  We learned that there are two types of sloths, a two finger sloth and a three finger sloth.  The three fingered sloths were the sloths we were used to who appear to wear a mask on their face, while the two fingered look closer to small bears. All sloths have 3 toes.

We did learn some interesting facts about sloths, the two variants can not (and do not) breed with each.  When sloths breed they are 100% effective.  Sloths can actually move quite fast (as fast a monkeys) when in danger.  And finally, they only use the facilities (or facili-trees) once a week, where they defecate a kilogram of poo and release a litre of pee.

Our final stop in Costa Rica was Puerto Viejo which felt so different than any other community in Costa Rica we had been to.  It had a very Rasta feel with beautiful black sand beaches and an island feel.   We wandered the streets watching people come and go and looked in a few shops for potential souvenirs. We realized that how we wanted to spend our final night in Costa Rica was on the black sand beach so after a quick stop at a local brewery we found a spot, set up our table and chairs and watched sunset and talked late into the night.

 

May 10^th – Our final border in North America

We had hoped to get to the Panama border first thing in the morning but the laundry we had dropped off yesterday was not ready and we had had a bit of a late night.  We spent our final morning doing what we had gotten used to doing in Costa Rica, sitting in a restaurant and enjoying a drink (coffee this time) and enjoying the views and ambience.    We had originally hoped to cross the border and get on the noon ferry to the Island of Boca del Toro but before we knew it that became an impossibility.

Around noon our laundry was done (it would have taken longer but thankfully Paul started to help the owner of the Laundromat fold our clothes) so we drove the short 40 minutes to the border prepared with our paperwork and more importantly the dogs paperwork.

Leaving Costa Rica was relatively easy, pay a departure tax, get a passport exit stamp and check the vehicle out of the country.  Within 30 minutes we were driving across a river into Panama where a border guard gave us a laundry list of tasks to complete.  First of which was to get fumigated and get our passport stamped. 

Most borders have “fixers” or “helpers” but usually they leave you alone as soon as you say you don’t want their help.  Panama helpers were relentless and the most aggressive we have encountered.  They really put us on edge and tried to confuse us.  I think the thought is that if we are confused that we are more likely to pay them for their services.  Without their help we were able to find immigration which was far easier than we thought it would be.  Some people told us that they had to prove they had at least $500 USD and proof of onward travel, but we were relatively quickly stamped in. Usually Paul does all the talking and goes first, but Kendra went first and Paul didn’t have to say anything to the border guard.

Next was paying for insurance for the vehicle and getting the temporary import permit.  This process took the bulk of our time at the border as the Customs agent had never seen British Columbian car registration and didn’t believe me that a 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper could be the registration.  It took a lot of discussion and some research on their side to finally believe us.

Lastly was the point in the process we were most concerned about but most prepared for, the importation of Rupert into Panama.  There are horror stories about this process, mostly originating from the largest border between Costa Rica and Panama and a price for importation close to $140 USD, but ours went incredibly smoothly.  For reasons we don’t really understand the animal inspector only changed us $25 USD, the least anyone we know has been charged.  Frustratingly, the animal inspector didn’t care about our Apostilled Document meaning we probably could have got through the border without all our running around in San Jose.    However, I know we both slept far better knowing that we had done the process properly.

The government of Canada states that Panama is the safest country (outside of Canada and the USA) on the Pan-American Highway, so we had a vision of what Panama was going to look like.  Well our first few hours were nothing like we had envisioned, it was sketchy.  It’s hard to describe why exactly it was sketchy but everything seemed to be in a state of disrepair with lots of poverty.  This feeling was made worse when, as setting up to camp for the night, we were approached by some locals recommending us to camp at a different location.  We were told that one of two things will happen if we stay where we are, either we will be robbed or the police will move us so we don’t get robbed.  They didn’t have to tell us twice, we left the area. 

The local had recommended the nearby mountains as a great spot to camp, but the bridge was closed for some reason meaning that we couldn’t access that area.  We hopelessly looked and asked for somewhere to camp but found nothing and before we knew it we had arrived in Zegla, a community the local refer to as The Ghetto.  We were running out of options; hotels were not really an option with reviews of rats and bedbugs leaving the best option to camp in the line up for the 7am ferry tomorrow morning.  We had read overlanders doing this as there is a security guard that ensure no one breaks into the vehicles.

Right before getting into line a few locals came up to us stating that if we wanted we could camp in their friends yard where they said we would be safe as they yard is fully fenced.  We decided to trust them and, just before it got dark pulled into what appeared to be a very safe parking lot behind a house.  It was a rough start to Panama but we had hope that tomorrow would be better.

Nicaragua!!

Nicaragua grew on us.  From humble beginnings in the mountains to finding our happy place on a beach we fell in love with this country.  We may have hit a bit of a breaking point in Leon but after a quick recharge we were able to rally and sand board down volcanos, see lava and explore quaint cities (and even being swarmed by a church group).  This is definitely one country we could return to especially since we were unable to explore Ometepe Island.

April 20^th – Feeling like true overlanders again

 

Before going to bed last night, the women who owned the restaurant asked if we wanted any coffee in the morning and we said sure that we would be happy to purchase some.  It seems as soon as she saw us wake up and leave the van she started preparing the most delicious cup of coffee for each of us.  She even asked how we wanted it prepared.  The coffee was everything we would have wanted and even came with some biscuits, the only “issue” is that she didn’t want us to pay for it.  The coffee, biscuits and the camping were all free.  She just wanted to make sure people had a good impression of her country.  We can easily say she gave us a great first impression; Mission Accomplished.

We explored Ocotal and neighbouring communities and even tried to go to a few places where coffee beans are harvested, assuming we could see the process and have more coffee, but these of course are industrial places with security, they did not let us in.

We ended up driving to a lake in a “fresh” area of the country (at least this is how the women who owned the restaurant we spent the night at described it) hoping to keep our trend of keeping ourselves cool by staying in the mountains.  We had planned to stay at a formal campground but missed the turn and ended up at the public dock which was pretty much empty except for a giant German Unimog.  Since the German’s appeared to be camping at the dock we decided we would be true overlanders and also camp at the dock. 

Our spot seemed great with an amazing view of Lake Apanas but before we knew it our German friends decided to leave (without saying hello or goodbye) leaving us alone for the night.  Maybe they knew something we didn’t like the plague of bugs that descended upon our campground as soon as it got dark.  We had never seen so many bugs!!  It didn’t take us long to retreat into our van for the night while ensuring all the windows were tightly closed.

 

April 21^st – The best burger of our lives in Coffee Country?!

We woke up planning for a slow start to the day; however, a local ended up coming to where we were camping demanding we pay for the use of the dock.  We didn’t have any money to give him, nor would we have, however once he started to explain that he was starving we decided to repay the hospitality of the woman of the previous night and give him some meat to eat.  He accepted the meat and went on his way. This is when we learned that Nicaragua is the poorest country we would be visiting on our entire Pan-American journey.

The community just south of the lake is Jinotega, the capital of the Jinotega region (same name) which is also the coffee capital of Nicaragua.  We envisioned cafes to enjoy locally harvested coffee everywhere but were surprised to see not a single café.  The only “café” we found was outside of a convivence store which had…amazing coffee.   Our next stop was a view point high above the city which had a good 4x4 road to get to it.  Somehow we thought we could make it, we didn’t!  So, although we didn’t spend as much time in the community of Jinotega, we at least had good coffee!

Our next stop was the community of Matagalpa which had a coffee museum.  Finding parking was a bit of an adventure but after a bit of backtracking we successfully found a spot for the van.  As we walked to the coffee museum Paul thought to throw the garbage out.  Most countries we go to have lots of garbage receptacles in the El Centro areas, but I guess not Nicaragua!  Paul ended up carrying two bags (small grocery sized bags) of garbage throughout the town looking for somewhere to put it.  When we finally made it to the museum Paul gave up and just placed the garbage beside the entrance hoping maybe someone would steal it.

The museum was really interesting, outlining the process of harvesting coffee, the different types of coffee beans and the history of coffee in the region.  Believe it or not, coffee is not native to Central America.

After checking out the coffee museum Paul was “surprised” to see his garbage was exactly where he left it, so he picked it up again and right before getting back to the van found a proper place to put it.

Kendra decided to head to another viewpoint which according to iOverlander was difficult for a 2wd vehicle to drive to, but thankfully this was not our experience and we finally reached a viewpoint of the area, which even had a restaurant.  We usually find that restaurants at touristy places tend to be expensive and subpar, but this was not our experience today.  Somehow the burgers were some, if not the best burgers we have ever had.  It sort of blew our minds, if someone would have told us this morning that we would be having the best burgers ever today, we probably wouldn’t have believed them.  So, if you are in Matagalpa, head to La Republica and try the Hamberguesa Don Mauricio, 10/10, or if two patties is too much the classic burger is excellent as well!

Of course, with every high there will eventually be a low, and ours was very shortly after leaving Matagalpa.  We broke the law, we were stuck behind a very slow moving vehicle and passed (with all the other Nicaraguans) on a sold (singular) yellow line.  Well, there happened to be a police officer right in front of us after passing.  We knew we had messed up and apologized hoping we would just get a warning, but the officer said that we broke the law and would have to pay a fine equivalent to $100 CAD.  We were willing to pay.  The issue is that we would have to pay, according to the police officer, in Leon the nearest big city and that to ensure we pay the fine he would be taking Paul’s license and could get it back in 15 days or so.  We spoke back and forth for a bit when finally, he said, give me what you have in your wallet and we can forget this happened.  Thankfully we had the equivalent of $5 in our wallet so we once again bribed the police and we were allowed to leave.

Our night ended at a Cigar factory which allowed overlanders to camp for free, but usually with these sorts of arrangements you’re expected to help out the business. So, for the same price as our police bribe Paul had purchased a cigar, something he hadn’t had since his Cuba days.  He was really overzealous with his smoking and after smoking the whole thing his headrush could only be described as “extreme”.

 

April 22^nd – Finding our Limitations

The area of Esteli is known for its tobacco and cigars, hence why we were able to stay at a cigar factory.   As a nice change we also didn’t stay at this factory by ourselves, friends we had met when we crossed into El Salvador were also there so we spent the morning trading stories and suggestions for the coming days.  One suggestion we got was to head into Esteli for some coffee and food, we even got some good recommendations of where exactly to go.

Esteli was crazy because, as we quickly learned, there was a festival going on.  We wish we could tell you that we explored this festival and had authentic local experiences but we knew we were getting burnt out again and found the festival very loud and overwhelming.  We got the coffee (it was amazing) and quickly left. 

Similarly, to Guatemala, Nicaragua is known for its volcanos so we decided to drive up and camp near a volcano.  We also planned to hike to the crater around sunset to see lava, unfortunately our plans didn’t come to fruition. 

We had read a variety of different reviews of the road up to Telica Volcano and although some said 4x4 is required, other’s implied we, in our dodge grand caravan would make it.  Well, we did need 4x4 because after driving for 15 kilometers we turned the corner and got stuck in volcanic sand. 

We did start the process of trying to get unstuck but thankfully some people on a formal tour to the volcano found us and they decided to help us (because we were blocking the road).  With 3 people pushing the van we were free of our predicament, but before leaving and after we thanked them the tour guide/driver was clear; “this road is for 4x4 only, it gets worse from here, you must leave this area”.

It seemed we had hit a wall; we saw our van’s limitations and were reaching ours.  So, we jumped on booking.com and booked the cheapest dog friendly hotel with parking for three nights in Leon.  We decided we needed a break.

 

April 23^rd – Taking our break

The hotel was really good, it came with breakfast, it had wifi and a pool.  We decided to just spend all our time in the hotel relaxing watching youtube or Netflix and chilling out. 

Our “room” was a thatched roof bungalow with a private outdoor shower(beside the outdoor toilet and sink) and was everything you’d envision a perfect little tropical vacation would look like.  This break was so needed!

 

April 24^th – Exploring Leon

Leon is the third largest city in Nicaragua with a rich history associated with the rebellions against American imperialism.   It’s known as the Liberal city (with Granada being the Conservative city) so we were excited to check it out.

Our first stop was dropping off some laundry meaning we’d have the entire day to explore Leon before returning to pick up our laundry.  Unfortunately, we found Leon a little underwhelming.  Maybe it is because we were still burnt out, or maybe because it was another colonial town after we had already seen so many.  Regardless this one seemed a bit rough around the edges. 

Our favourite part was the Museum of the Revolution which showed the history of Nicaragua starting in the early 1900’s and how they have continually had to fight for their sovereignty against American influences.  The general tone of this museum reminded us of North Korea, as so rarely you go to a museum with a clear villain and pictures of so much death and destruction combined with murals to instil patriotism.  It seems that the revolutionary party is still kind of in power today.  After overthrowing the leader of Nicaragua (placed by the American’s), the Revolutionary party ran the country for 10 years before the FSLN party took over, which has its history all the way back in the early 1900’s and is truly part of the zeitgeist of Nicaragua.  We really can’t tell the difference between the revolutionary party and the FSLN, but you see the FSLN party colours everywhere in Nicaragua (Black and Red symbolising Death and Blood- the revolutionary party’s flag was the same but with a skull on it).  Similar to North Korea government propaganda is everywhere combined with their historical narrative and a call for patriotism.

The best part of the museum is we got a great overview of Leon from the roof of the museum.  This roof was in rough shape.  No regulator would ever allow anyone to step on this roof back in Canada but if it is good enough for Nicaragua its good enough for us, and again the views of Leon, Momotombo Volcano and the volcanoes in the distance were amazing.

We left Leon and returned to our hotel with a couple pizzas (the box said Italian flavour in a Nicaraguanese style) and spent the heat of the day in the pool.  We did think about returning to Leon to see it in the evening but decided that relaxing was far mor enjoyable. Paul did have to return to pick up our laundry, which was not ready, and he said we would return in the morning instead of two hours after the initial scheduled pick up time.

 

April 25^th – EXTREME SAND BOARDING

One of the top things to do in the Leon area is to go to Cerro Negro Volcano and sand board down the volcano.  Well, we couldn’t not do that! We hope you’re not hating the double negatives there! We left the hotel and made our way down roads that gave us flashbacks to our adventure going to Telica Volcano but this time we arrived unscathed.

We were unsure how the process of volcano boarding would work, especially since we were not on a formal tour.  The process to rent the equipment was easy, we were given safety glasses, gloves and denim overalls as well as a sand board to toboggan down the mountain on.  To our surprise we had to hike with all this equipment to the top of the volcano and the hike was nothing to scoff at.

Paul thought it best to take off his shorts and shirt and put on his overalls right away while Kendra hiked her overalls up the mountains.  Each of us think our plan was better, but regardless we were sweating buckets carrying our gear up the mountain.  Thankfully the views were worth it and the videos and pictures of us sand boarding (tobogganing) down a mountain look EXTREME. 

In truth it was a lot of work for a few moments of fun.  We are glad we did it but decided against hiking the 30 or 45 minutes back up the mountain to do it again.

We had originally thought to camp at Cerro Negro but because we had already finished sandboarding and it was already 32 degrees at noon, we decided to leave and camp (as well as enjoy AC in the van as we drove) south. After eating our leftover pizza and sorting out our laundry, which unfortunately is not looking as clean as it usually does when it has been washed, we cranked the AC and hit the road.

We ended up finding a spot near the shores of Lake Xolotlan on the side of Chiltepe Volcano.  The place was almost fine, except we started to hear shooting which freaked us out a bit but it was too late for us to leave without good reason, and the shooting stopped as soon as the sun went down.  If only we had known that we were camping beside a militarized area; however, I’m not sure we would have felt any safer.

 

April 26^th – Detours for Ice Cream, Cheese and Beer

We woke up and left our volcano hideaway and headed towards some communities in the mountains known for dairy which also contained a brewery.  Seemed like the perfect one hour detour.

We left our camping spot and were surprised to immediately see warning signs for a military zone on the other side of the road, the more we drove the more military people we saw, making us first worried we had made a terrible mistake in where we were driving and second glad we had not driven this way to get to our camping spot as we would have turned around and who knows where we would have camped?

The first town we visited was Diriamba which we walked around and where we purchased some cheese.  The owner of the queseria even allowed us to try different types before purchasing. 

Our next stop should have been the brewery, but it never materialized.  We followed google, waze, and facebook and any other bit of information to find its location but in the end gave up after multiple failed attempts.

 Our final stop on our detour was the community of Jinotepe, known for its sweets and ice cream.  We indulged in the best rice pudding we had ever had and ice cream that Nicaraguans travels hours on the weekend to get.  The whole time we were in the ice cream place we saw a constant stream of people coming and ordering 4 to 8 ounces of ice cream then heading to work, school or home. We each ordered 8 oz. (Passion Fruit and Jack Fruit flavour) and enjoyed people watching.

After completing the detour, it was time to return to our main plan for the day, to see lava!  The easiest place to see lava in Nicaragua is Masaya Volcano, so we had planned to drive to the volcano, wait until nightfall and see lava for ourselves.  When we arrived to the entrance to the volcano we were told we were unable to enter the park until 4:30 so we had a couple hours to kill which we spent at a restaurant overlooking Lake Masaya and wandering through the town of Nindiri.

Closer to 4:30 we headed back to the volcano and we were blown away by how many overlanders were going to be joining us on our trip to the crater of Masaya Volcano.  After seeing one or two at any given time, suddenly there were 6 of us, one we had even seen multiple times starting in the Yukon! 

After entering the park, we did have more time to wait until sunset so we checked out the museum of the volcano and did a couple hikes in the park.  We even got in trouble, after hiking around to the old Masaya Crater viewpoint which we learned was forbidden, they really should have put up a sign, or maybe we missed the sign because it was dark? We really do try hard to be respectful and not break any rules, so we were apologetic to the park ranger when he said we weren’t supposed to be where we were.

In the end we watched the lava with everyone else at the defined viewing platform until we were told the park was closing, at that time we headed to the entrance where many overlanders camp for the night.

This is another one of those times where we were thankful for our compact size. There were very limited spaces for wild camping, and 3 spots had been taken by one Unimog, and our friends in the sprinter had the second spot, but we were able to squeeze in between some trees.  Unfortunately, the other overlanding vehicles would have to find somewhere else to camp, after dark, which is something we would have struggled with.

 

April 27^th – Previously White Coloured Buildings

We woke up to the sounds of children, when we poked our heads out of the van we were surprised to see 4 buses full of middle school aged children all waiting until the park opened to see the volcano.  I wish they were excited to see our rig and talk to us, but instead decided to take a million pictures of the Unimog beside us.  The Swiss people who owned it hid inside and didn’t seem to make any attempt to talk with the kids, we had hoped they (the kids or the Swiss) would come say hello to us, but never did.

South of Masaya we had read about a half dozen communities collectively known as Los Pueblos Blancos (or White Towns) known for their white coloured stucco buildings.  We left our camping spot and headed south to the communities, but were surprised at how few white coloured buildings there were!  We had assumed they would be like the communities we had previously seen in Spain, but instead we were greeted by newly painted, very colourful buildings.  Were these the white buildings we had read about, just now newly painted?  Who knows?!?  We did stop at a view point of Lake Apoyo in the community of Catarina where we decided to have a drink and a slice of pie while we watched tour groups arrive, take one picture then head to the tourist shops to shop.

After seeing three of the “white towns” full of colourful newly painted building we left the area, a bit confused, and headed towards Granada.  Kendra originally wanted to spend the evening exploring Granada, maybe even going out for dinner, but after arriving at the campground in the heat of the day, we thought it better to play some card games in the gardens found at the campground.

 

April 28^th – Exploring Granada

After completing an Amazon order of things Kendra will pick up in Canada when she is back we headed towards Granada’s El Centro.  Granada is a beautiful and colourful colonial city.  It may be one of the most colourful we have seen.  We spent hours walking and exploring only stopping for smoothies or fruit juices. 

We then walked to the lakeside and back finally stopping at a little bar to have a few drinks and to people watch.  Before we knew it the heat of Granada was really starting to affect us so we drank a bunch of water and returned to the campground after exploring.  Although we enjoyed a leisurely day walking around, the heat and living outdoors is really starting to wear on us. So as Paul writes this blog, Kendra is creating some covers for our back windows to keep the mosquitoes and bugs out at night.  We know we will hit rain and more bugs at some point, and this has been a task on our to do list for quite some time.

 

April 29^th – And this is why you make reservations

One location in Nicaragua that was highly recommended to us was Ometepe Island and we always try to do everything that is recommended for us to do, unfortunately, we were warned that reservations are recommended for the ferry to the island especially if it is was weekend, well today is Saturday.

We left Granada after a quick stop for water a drove to Rivas.  We had been warned of some corrupt police officer between Granada and Rivas but never had any issues.  After arriving at the ferry terminal, we decided to not park in the terminal itself as there was fee to enter it and we just wanted to make a reservation, ideally for today.  Paul left Kendra to figure out when we could get on the ferry and was inundated with tour operators all trying to “help” him.  Usually in these situations (booking finite tickets for a specific event [sailing]) people tend to try to take advantage of tourists.  The typical line is that “we need their help as there is no way we can figure this out ourselves and even if we could it is all booked up”.  Well, they stated most of the typical line, with one key change, everyone said that its all booked up completely for today and the rest of the weekend.  Paul frantically tried to find a ferry operator who would make a reservation for us but the earliest we go get a ferry was Tuesday evening. Turns out it was a long weekend this weekend.  What is worse, we wanted to go to Costa Rica on Wednesday to maximize our time in the remaining countries in North America. With heavy hearts we left Rivas knowing that Ometepe would not be a place we would be able to visit on this trip, but at least it gives us a reason to return to Nicaragua.

Back in Mexico a Belgium couple recommended a beach where camping was free in southern Nicaragua and thankfully Kendra (with a pin on google maps) remembered this just as we were starting to get concerned about where to camp for the night.  The beach was known Playa Amarilla and it was everything we expected Baja California to be.  Camping spots in shady locations two steps from sandy beaches with swimmable water and beautiful sunsets.  We quickly got over our disappointment pretty quickly.

We found a perfect spot for us, set up the hammock and relaxed, then before we knew it the sun had set and it was time for bed.

 

April 30^th – We didn’t go to church, church came to us

We woke up and saw the perfect spot to eat breakfast, so we set up our table and chairs overlooking the ocean in a shady level spot.  Breakfast was just about done when a school bus full of people decided they really liked the spot we had camped in and parked relatively close to our van.  All of a sudden upwards of 50 people exited the bus and started setting up their chairs and BBQs in very close vicinity to our van.  We really didn’t know what we should do.

We did eat our breakfast in our perfect spot, but it didn’t feel as tranquil as we had hoped it to feel with Nicaraguan children to the elderly walking around us checking out what we were eating.  We were happy when everyone left the area close to where we were eating, so we could enjoy our coffees, but we’re surprised when they made a huge circle right beside our van and started praying. 

The praying turned into preaching and singing and back to praying, YUP it was a church group that decided to do a seaside sermon literally right beside our van.  #blessed What was worse, Paul was not wearing a shirt and Kendra was in a bikini, we seemed totally out of place. #extremelyblessed?   It was at this time we decided it was time to leave our spot and allow the church group to enjoy it, we needed a few things any way from the nearest community.  Thus started the most awkward takedown and pack up we had ever done.  It really felt like we kept on getting in the church group’s way with them preaching louder every time we came a bit closer to them.  Finally, we were packed up enough that it was time to start the van and leave, but we didn’t know when the polite time to leave would be as the van, and specifically the exhaust was right beside and pointed at group. At this point, they had been preaching for almost an hour with no sign of ending and we decided, whatever, if this is why we go to hell so be it, we started up the van drove off our leveling blocks, packed those aways and left our perfect spot. Don’t worry, due to the heat of the day we were still wearing minimal clothing as we packed up around them, so we definitely did not blend in with them, but it is the most naked we have ever been and will ever be “at church”.

After getting our required provisions from the nearby community we returned to the beach with the hope that the church group would have left; unfortunately, we were wrong, they were still preaching an hour later.  The beach had also filled up with locals enjoying their own long weekend.  Thankfully the beach was large enough that we were able to find another spot to enjoy the day.

We spent the day playing boardgames under our awning, trying to stay in the shade and running after the ice cream man that would routinely bike past our camping spot.  Periodically locals would come and say hello, some even offered us lunch to trade for a bit of salt.  All in all it was a good day and thanks to the church group probably not one we will ever forget.

 

May 1^st – Beach(es) Day!

Today was the actual public holiday meaning the beach was again going to be busy so we decided to check out a few of the other beaches in the area, namely the ones Lonely Planet and Backpacker websites recommended.

Our first stop was Playa Guasacate within the community to Popoyo which had been heavily invested in by foreigners.  Most of the beach was blocked by hotels and restaurants leaving just small openings for someone to walk through to the beach itself.  The beach was fine, but lacked any greenery or shade meaning finding a cool spot to relax at was difficult due to the hot sand.  We had just about given up trying to find enjoyment in at the beach when we saw a few locals relaxing close to a river that connects to the ocean.  The river had created a large eddy perfect for swimming in that seemed to be the perfect temperature.  The sand was also tolerable on our feet.  The only issue we had is we didn’t have our swimsuits with us, so we decided to do as the Nicaraguans and go swimming in just our underwear, the first time we had actually done this on this trip!

This swimming hole was amazing, no waves, not very salty, and the perfect temperatures.  We ended up relaxing in the pools for longer than we should have (without reapplying sunscreen), but I guess we will pay for that mistake later. 

After such an enjoyable time at Playa Guasacate we decided to go to the backpackers favourite Playa Popoyo, it was definitely far less developed and just a couple hostels near the water, but the beach was not very good.  It was really hard to find anything that would set it apart of any other beach.  Once again there was no shade, and no where to really swim, since it is known for waves and surfing.  We walked around the beach hoping to find a spot to enjoy but in the end decided to leave.

Although there were a few places we could camp in the area we knew where we had camped for the last couple nights was the best.  Even though it was busy during the day, by 4pm it was not busy at all, and it was almost that time, but we didn’t want to go back to the beach quite yet, we had one more stop, a brewery.

As many of you know we often will stop in a local brewery to try the local beers.  During our time in Central America, we have been slightly disappointed by the quality, and in Nicaragua we have been disappointed that we haven’t been able to find any.  We have found them on google, but they are either closed when we are in the area or don’t seem to exist where google says they should be.  We were pretty excited when we saw a sign saying brewery, indicating it was open and only a quick few kilometers away.   We were shocked and disappointed when we arrived at the brewery only to be told that the only beer they had there was the national beers.  That would be like going to a brewery in Canada and being told they only have Kokanee and Keiths.  SERIOUSLY!?!  The trip was not completely in vain as across the road there was a craft ice cream shop with some of the most delicious ice cream we had had on this trip.  You win some you lose some.

By the time we arrived back to Playa Amarilla we practically had the beach to ourselves so we set up our table and enjoyed this paradise.

 

May 2^nd – The Dog Days of Nicaragua

The two most difficult borders for a dog to enter on the Pan-American highway are the Costa Rican border and the Panama border (with Panama being the most difficult).  As we would be going to Costa Rica tomorrow we had to spend today back in Rivas completing paperwork and paying fees to export (and by extension Import) our dog. 

The first step was the vet, the easy part.  Rupert was checked out, he is healthy.  We were given a couple documents and told to go to the bank.  There is only one bank in Rivas where you can pay your fees for exporting your dog and it just so happens to be the busiest bank with the longest lines.  After waiting 20 minutes the lines inside the bank were finally short enough for us to enter the bank itself.  The security guard asked Paul why we were at the bank, Paul told him we had to pay to export our dog and the security guard placed Paul in a special line to see a Customer Service Representative.  After waiting almost an hour Paul finally saw the bank representative only to be told that the security guard placed him in the wrong line, he needed to see a regular bank teller for that transaction.  The line for the bank teller was massive. 

After another hour in the line Paul could start to see the tellers, which is when he realized we would need his Passport for this transaction.  His passport was in the van, Kendra was in a nearby park with Rupert enjoying a smoothie and her phone had run out of data.  Paul’s heart dropped, thinking he would have to leave and spend another hour or more in the line.  Suddenly there was ding on Paul phone, Kendra had found some wifi in the park and was wondering how the process was going.  Thank god, within a couple minutes Kendra was at the bank with Paul’s passport, meaning after another 30 minutes of waiting the fees were paid (if you’re doing the math Paul was at the bank over 2 hours while Kendra was in the park with wifi and a smoothie- we will let you decide who is the winner).

With receipts from the bank and paperwork from the vet we walked to Cetrex, a government office whose purpose is still a mystery, as IPSA is the government agency responsible for import and export of animals (which we had to pay a fee to at the bank and would be going to tomorrow at the border).  The Cetrex employees took our paperwork, typed some stuff in his computer and gave us a 8 digit number to quote at the border and with that our day was done.  We had theoretically on paper exported Rupert to Costa Rica meaning we could relax for the rest of the day, not that there was much of the day left.

Our celebrations that we had completed the export process were short lived as the company we hired to ship the van to Colombia contacted us letting us know that Panama had changed their rules regarding the export of vehicles meaning we had to be in Panama City a week earlier than previously planned.  We were already on a tight timeline, but this news was demoralizing and created a lot of stress.  It meant that we would only have a week in Costa Rica, a place where the process to export the dog to Panama can take 10 business days. 

We made our way to a backpacker hotspot known as San Juan del Sur where we actually found a brewery that was open and had local beers brewed by the brewery!  We had a beer and talked through our options and our stresses.  There was a lot of unknowns.  We thought it best to get a hotel for the night so we at least would have a good night sleep in an air conditioned room and be able to have a shower.  The spot we choose was a hostel which offered free yoga and a welcome drink.  We are not too sure why, but we decided to take advantage of the free amenities and for the first time in our lives we did yoga.  At the end of it we were glad we had done it as it got our mind off of our predicament.