Costa Rica has a law that requires tourists to leave the country every 90 days, I assume so that they won’t choose to just live there without paying taxes, etc.

As a result, tourists like us, who for the first time will actually be here more than 90 days, need to take a little vacation from Costa Rica and go to either Panama or Nicaragua so we can cross the border and get our passports stamped, giving us another 90 days. We chose to go to Granada, Nicaragua.

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Our newest adventure began several days before our actual trip, since getting our bus tickets required going to the bus station in San Jose.

That was indeed an adventure. We went on the internet to see if we could get a location for the Transnica bus station. We thought we had it — and we had a map of San Jose as well. We actually went where we wanted to go, and there was a bus station, but it wasn’t the Transnica bus station.

We rode around a while longer, occasionally stopping to ask for directions, especially to taxi drivers that you would think knew where things were in the city. Not the case — finally, we went back by the “not-Transnica” bus station and found a taxi driver who knew where it was, and we paid him to lead us there.

We got our tickets, then had to find our way back to the autopista and to Atenas. The main reason we had chosen Transnica rather than Ticabus — the Costa Rican bus — was because we could get the bus in Alajuela instead of having to go all the way back to San Jose.

Ok, we have our tickets — we go home and get on the internet to make our hotel reservations, and call Frances and Bruce to make arrangements for Heidi-sitting. Magda made arrangements for a driver to pick us up Monday morning at 7AM and take us to the bus station in Alajuela.

We got there early and found a little “Soda” — café — and had a very nice breakfast and a very nice chat with the girl who prepared it for us — she enjoyed using her very good English. The bus was very nice, air-conditioned, reasonably comfortable — we were on the very front seats although we couldn’t see out the front because of a curtain that separated the patrons from the chauffeur (driver) and a conductor (he checked the passports and handed out documents needed at the border.)

The bus ride was basically uneventful and the stop at the border wasn’t bad at all (this would NOT be the case on the return trip.) The trip was pretty long — about 6 hours.

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Our arrival presented a new problem — how to pay for a taxi when we had no Nicaraguan money (cordobas). The driver took us to an ATM, but Jim had a problem with his card and we ended up paying him the only American bill I had — a $5, which was more than the cost of the cab, but it worked.

We had made reservations at the Kikolbi Hotel, which was very nice and had a lovely hostess named Marlene, who spoke excellent English.

After we got settled in, we headed out the 3 blocks to the Park, which as usual in Costa Rica and Nicaragua is the center point in the town.

When we reached the opposite side of the Park, we were amazed. We had been to Granada about 5 years ago, and while we were there, workmen were on their hands and knees, laying the tile that made up the street. Now it was a lovely pedestrian walk — closed to automobile traffic and lined by bars and restaurants with seating outside for patrons.

We enjoyed walking up and down and checking out the menus for the various restaurants. We selected one called Bar and Restaurant of the Artistas.We were served by a very pleasant fellow named Oscar, who also protected us from street peddlers, mostly children. One peddler, an older woman, caught my attention with the pictures she was selling…..hand made by her son.

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I really wanted to buy one, but again — we had no cordobas and street people don’t take credit cards. I told her I really wanted to buy one of her pictures and that we would be back tomorrow evening. I hoped that she would come back and find us. I’ll jump ahead and tell you that she did come back and find us although the restaurant where we ate the previous night was closed. We had a very happy reunion, I got my picture and she got her cordobas…and Jim and I both got big hugs.

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Our one full day in Granada was Tuesday. After breakfast at the hotel — typical fruit, gallo-pintos, eggs, and bread, we headed back toward the Park and the walk down to Lake Nicaragua which was at the other end of it. We wanted to see the Hotel where we had stayed before, but before we could get there, we were approached by a man selling boat tours.

He was a very good salesman, especially since I already had thought about seeing the islands in the lake, so we agreed to take his tour if he was our guide — he seemed very knowledgable and spoke excellent English, and the price was right. He called a taxi buddy who came and took us to the lake where his boat was located. It was pretty nice, about 20 feet long with a cover and seating for about 20 people, but we were the only takers today.

We basically had a private tour of about an hour and a half. Jeorge was very good; the weather was great with the sun shining and a pleasant breeze to keep us cool. There are over 300 islands, all of which are small, but large enough for some luxurious vacation homes. “One of the islands, according to out guide, is owned by the King of Spain. Another is home to a group of
spider monkeys, one of which, Lucy, joined us on the boat. The islands, according to our guide, are the result of a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago.

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We had Jeorge to drop us off in front of the Hotel Grenada, where we had stayed before and we walked back up the pedestrian walk, found a nice place to eat lunch, then made our way back to the hotel to read and relax. Later we headed back to find a place for dinner — found that our former restaurant was closed, found another one, and met up with our picture lady, then back to the hotel. All in all, a lovely day.

Wednesday was return to Costa Rica day. Our bus tickets said departure at 10 am, so we got there a little after 9. We later found out that the 10 AM departure was out of Managua and that it wouldn’t arrive in Granada until 11. Oh well, live and learn. The bus ride was again uneventful, but the border crossing from the Nicaragua side was a pain — about 2 hours of wait and wonder what we were supposed to be doing.

The conductor takes the passports and you just wait and hope you are going to get it back. Of course, I guess you always get them back, but it is a bit overwhelming when you are without the means of communicating in a common language. We made it back and got off the bus at the airport and took a taxi to Atenas. We didn’t get back until around 8PM. Another long day, and the end of another Costa Rican adventure.

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Written by VIP Member Anne Harper who is a retired English teacher, having taught high school English for 33 years. Anne was not a well-travelled person, or at least until Jim Kavney came into her life. After they both lost their spouses 8 years ago, they met and began a relationship which has enabled her to meet and fall in love with the people and the country of Costa Rica, which was already in Jim’s heart. Their stays have extended from weeks to months, and this year, for the second time, they will be spending 4 months in Atenas.

Anne Harper & Jim Kavney are retired and currently living in Atenas, Costa Rica.

Anne and Jim love the Central Valley with its small towns and local personality. With Atenas as their headquarters, they are visiting and exploring many of Costa Rica’s wonderful and exciting places. Jim and Anne divide their time between their homes in Florida and Costa Rica. Anne confesses that her horizons have been broadened and her awareness of the world heightened by her visits to this amazing country – the land, the native people and the cross-section of ex-pats from all over the world. She never knows what language will be spoken at the table next to them when they go out to eat. When Anne says: “It isn’t the destination; it’s the journey,” she is referring to her continuing journey during which she sees amazing places and meets amazing people….and her world continues to expand

Living in Costa Rica – Our visa run to Granada, Nicaragua by bus.

Article/Property ID Number 3608

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