We got the 07:00 hrs. bus from a dusty courtyard to the border with Costa Rica. We got off at the barrier after a fifty-minute journey, standing all the way. We breezed through Nicaraguan Customs before realising that it was not yet open, and we had breached security! We were led back to the sentry post by two amused Customs Officers.
At 08:00 hrs. the border opened, and we went through for real. There was a quick passport and bag check and then we had a fizzy orange drink in the cafeteria while we waited for the microbus to the Costa Rican side. This cost us C$20,000 Córdoba’s, although they wanted a US dollar.
We walked through an initial passport check and a malaria prevention check where we had to show our anti-malaria pills for approval. Next it was ₡ CRC 75 Costa Rican Colónes entry tax. We had changed our residual Córdoba’s and Travellers Cheques at a rate of ₡ CRC 72 Costa Rican Colónes per US$ dollar.
We then had to buy a ₡ CRC 650 Tica Bus ticket from San Jose to Managua before we could get our final entry stamp on our passports. We ate in a well-stocked cafeteria in the complex at Peñas Blancas, which is simply a border post, while we waited for the 11:00 hrs. bus to the capital.
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the centre of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San José is Costa Rica's seat of national government, focal point of political and economic activity, and major transportation hub. The city is named in honour of Joseph of Nazareth.
At least we were in Costa Rica. I had been dreading being sent back to Nicaragua for not having an onward ticket. We boarded the coach after a cursory bag search, and we were away on our way to San José.
The bus started out sensibly full but at the first roadside halt a load of passengers swarmed aboard and filled the aisle. We got refreshments enroute from a fat fellow who was selling Coca Cola from a large, cooled flask.
As we went on through vast open plains and mountains more people got off than got on so the load diminished. We paid our fare of ₡ CRC 180 each. We finally surmounted one last mountain range at 16:00 hrs. and descended into San José.
Our initial impression was of a modern, wealthy, well-organised city. The streets were crowded as we headed for the International YHA Toruma Youth Hostel on Avenida Central between Calles 29 and 33.
We found the huge Victorian-looking building and booked into a small dormitory for ₡ CRC 108 each. We then went straight into the adjacent restaurant and had a cheap wholesome meal with plenty of blackberry juice to wash it down.
At 18:00 hrs we went into town to investigate “Ye Pub” which was allegedly a traditional old English Public House. It was a good copy of the olde worlde wooden cellar pubs found in the City of London. We steamed into the draft Imperial beer, buying a large pitcher for ₡ CRC 250.
According to Imperial it combines German brewing tradition with Costa Rican tastes. Since 1924 Costa Rica’s favourite beer has been Imperial. Made with a combination of two row and specialty malts, grains, and hops, it has a pleasing touch of bitterness. Golden yellow in colour, with a light body and silky texture, Imperial has a clean, refreshing taste. It is an American-Style Lager which is ALC. BY VOLUME: 4.5%. Imperial is still the No. 1 selling beer in Costa Rica and is considered the ‘Beer of Costa Rica’.
The music was good (Soul) and the atmosphere was pleasant. The few locals were enthusiastically playing darts. At 21:00 hrs. we decided that we had had enough and returned to the Youth Hostel.
My bunk squealed with protest, the bottom boards threatening to splinter, but they held and I slept soundly.
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