Two Beers and a Pretzel

Well, it’s raining in San Jose today, and I’ve been trying to take care of some business and couldn’t catch the bus to the volcano, but I’ll be going tomorrow morning.

After dragging 2 Digital SLR’s around for two weeks, I had only used them once.  However, I’ve used the little waterproof Olympus constantly… so, I’ve shipped all the bulky and expensive camera gear back home.  Whether it makes it there is another matter, but it is insured.

Copan Ruins in infra-red

The biggest lemon I’ve ever seen.  I found it on the hike in Copan…  never saw the tree, but we were on a steep hill, so it must have rolled down from somewhere.

The border in Nicaragua.  An impromptu market and a lot of people giving you a horrible exchange rate between Cordobas and Colones.  That’s a constant at any crossing.  When I crossed from Honduras into Nicaragua, they were offering 70 Cordobas for 100 Lempiras (appx $5.29) while the correct exchange rate was 95 for 100.

And then Costa Rica…  everyone had to open their bags for a very brief inspection.  This was slightly more modern with a convenience store integrated with the immigration office.

I woke up at 5 AM in Managua to the reassuring sound of gunfire.  My best guess is that a semi-automatic, shotgun, and a 45 were all involved.  Upon leaving the hostel, I asked the doorman if it was safe, and he told me it was OK because the guns were 3 or 4 blocks away.  Needless to say, I ran for the one block to the bus station.  Thankfully, without incident.

The bus left at 6 am.  About an hour later we make a stop somewhere in Nicaragua to pickup more passenger and Vicky got on.  It was nice to have someone to talk to because the trip did not end until 5 pm.  About 2 hours were whittled away at the border.  45 minutes at the Nicaragua exit point, and an hour and a half to get into Costa Rica.

Once you´re in, it´s very easy to see that you just came from the 2nd poorest Central American country into one of the richest.  San Jose might as well be Cincinnati with palm trees (albeit a bit larger).

I´ve seen one Chevy truck in 2 weeks - near the place I ate last night.  That´s it for american vehicles.  Everything down here is Toyota and Nissan.  In fact, the indiginous village back in Copan has a few buildings that were donated by the Japanese.  I´m not sure if it was government or charities, but a definate presence that no other country appeared to have.

I´m staying at the Hostel Toruma in San Jose.  For $35, its ás nice as your average Courtyard by Marriot.  The building is an old mansion that used to belong to the Costa Rican president.  These guys are part of a Hostel network, so they have some of the nicest places all over Costa Rica.  They have one in Arenal - right near the volcano.  They say you can sit in the hot springs and mud baths after dark and watch the volcano erupt while drinking a mixer…  That sounds like a plan to me!

I have pics from the border crossing, but I can´t get the wifi here to give my laptop a valid IP address.  I´m on PC´s without USB ports, so no pics today.

Perhaps the areas around the TICA bus stations are not the best neighborhoods…  After Roatan and Copan, these two capital cities make me want to go to East LA, or the South side of Chicago.

To catch everybody up…  I ended up skipping Tanya’s, as that looked like waaay too much food, and Jesse invited me to his buddy’s place for dinner.  With a change to party with the local crew of gringos, I went for it. Denny runs an internet company in Copan, and was a generous host, allowing me to Skype with my family for the better part of an hour.  After dinner we went to the Red Frog bar and met the owner, Dan and another traveller, Tom (who is a guide in Yosemite).

Dan got us good and drunk.  His signature mixed drink is the “Dirty Dan”.  Tastes like koolaid, must be 151 from the way I felt on Friday.  Then a drink called the “Uterus”…  Tom owes me a picture - you won’t believe what it looks like.

So I was sick all day Friday.  Caught the Saturday bus to San Pedro, and then to Tegus.  Today I took a bus to Managua.

I may elaborate later, but let’s just say these are not the best places I’ve ever been on vacation…

Guys at the bus stop follow you to a hotel, follow you to an ATM, and then as you to pay for the “security” they provided, as well as try to fleece you for 2x the price on the room (I assume they got a commission).

Anyway, 6am bus to Costa Rica tomorrow, and no new pics from the bus rides, so I’ll post again when I get to San Jose…