Our 1st Border Crossing

 

So we didn’t sleep a wink the night before because of all the nerves flying around.  We kept asking ourselves, “What would happen if they don’t  let us through?”  and we really had no other plan in mind, what to do is there really no plan B. So we said a little prayer and away we went.

We got in the camper and drove about an hour to the border.  It started raining halfway through the drive and when we got closer and our hearts were beating faster than ever, the rain stopped and there was a huge rainbow.  No it wasn’t a double rainbow.

It was a sign! The rainbow put smiles on our faces and we were positive it was going to work out.  We arrived and parked.  We got through the Costa Rican side pretty quickly.  A  couple of stamps here and a couple of stamps there and a few more stamps over there and we were done.  A sigh of relief and we jumped back in the car and drove to the Nicaragua side. Parked.  And did the whole thing all over again.  A few stamps here, there and away over there.  Lots of walking and waiting but at the end of 2.5 hours we were done!!!  WOW that was easier than we had both thought.

Here are a few more pictures of the border and all the buildings we had to walk to.

		Hello Nicaragua VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After we drove into Nicaragua we had to take pictures of the extremely long line of trucks that were waiting to get into Costa Rica… almost a mile long!

Whoa Line of Trucks VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What a GREAT day!!!  First border down and about 5 more to go!!!

 

Much Love

Last Stop in Costa Rica

 

Well we got to Liberia for a quick 2 nights so we could gear up for our BIG border crossing.  We stayed at this campsite outside of town and there was NO ONE there.  KINDA weird.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  So we found a nice shady spot with electricity and put her in park. 

		Camping in Liberia VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We went into town and got some things that we needed before we left and fixed up the camper with our helpers… the dogs and felt so nervous like it was the first day of school.  We set an alarm so we were the first people there and we weren’t standing in line with mobs of people who had just come off the bus.  Now you are probably wondering… why are they so nervous.

Well here is the low down~

We bought a camper that is from California in Costa Rica from a German family.  So we were a bit scared that we were going to be rejected at the border.  Casey signed the back  of the title and the German man signed the front giving us ownership but it is all in English and it may look a bit funny to a person working at a border in Central America.  So we had an attorney write up a Bill of Sale in Spanish just in case.  It is not like we could just run to the DMV and get the title switched so we had to make sure it was legit.  That’s where the nerves come in.  So in Liberia we made sure we had everything we needed to get through that border and from what we’d heard you needed loads of copies to give to the border agents after they take you for all there money.  Batteries charged, copies made, fridge stocked, air pressure checked, oil good, propane regulator still slowly leaking, celebratory drinks ready for Nicaragua let hit the road.

We drifted to Oeste

 

We found this tiny town in search of our friend Jonathan’s old stomping grounds.  Jonathan lived in a town called Estertillos Este for a several years building a campus for Young Life but a few years ago it was sold and turned into a resort.  We wanted to see his handy work so we drove around looking for what we thought could be it taking pictures of what we thought might me the resort. Not sure if we actually saw the right one but we did manage to find the airport and that was about it.

		Este VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

While we were drifting around we stumbled upon Esterillos Oeste the town north of Esterillos Este and met a super cool dude who owned a surf shop there.

http://adriftsurfshop.com/

We talked to him for a while and had great vibes from the town so we decided to stay a few nights.  If it wasn’t for Ozzie (Adrift surf shop owner) we probably wouldn’t have stopped.  Thanks Oz!!!  We set up shop in a campsite right off the beach the first night.  When we talked to the guy at the campsite about the how safe it was he pointed to the “guard dog” and said “because of him it was really safe”.  I had to laugh when he said that because this poor dog was the saddest representation of a guard dog I have ever seen.  After the first hot, stale air night we had second thoughts about paying for another night.  Then Casey came up with a brilliant idea… “why don’t we just move over there” (5 feet away right on the beach was free parking and more of a breeze) “ABSOTULEY!”  So we packed up and moved to our new sight… 5 seconds away.

		Oeste VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Up early for a morning session and happened to catch another beautiful sunrise. We are blessed!!

Just Another Day VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So after  three cups of coffee and a little surf we loaded up the RV and headed out. Our main goal for the day was to make it to Liberia so we could stock up with supplies and be super close to the border. Originally on our way into Jaco we had seen signs for the best and only Bloody Mary in Costa Rica. So we decided to make a pit stop and put these Bloodies to the test. 

Outback Jack…Roadkill Grill

The owners came to greet us at the door and were the friendliest people.  We ordered 2 Bloody Marys and the owner sat down with us and ordered him and his wife 2 as well.  They sat with us and talked to us all about their travels and where they have been and how traveling was such an impact on their lives.  It was so great to talk with them.  We were feeling a little nervous about our trip and the up coming border crossing and he just eased all of our nerves.  Excellent Bloody Mary’s by the way and great food!  Once we had finished our bloodies and our conversation about traveling and life came to a close.  We packed up our dogs and hit the road.

Outback Jack's VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL