a trip from nicaragua to costa rica
One thing that I often do when I travel is to meet up with one friend for certain journey and then another friend for second part if I have a longer time for vacation. Sometimes that means I have to travel between on my own or have a few days alone in between. During this short break my education, I got the opportunity to go to Nicaragua with one of my close friends and then was going to join up with a group of friends in Coast Rica. My friends wanting to go to Costa Rica had already planned out a trip in Tamarindo a western coast beach and surf town. I had done all my research and it appeared that there was an early morning bus from Managua to Liberia in Costa Rica. From Liberia, it seemed I could catch a local bus to Tamarindo. I also had the address of where my friends and I we going to be staying. It was a condo complex and my friend informed them that I arrive there before they did. I thought I had all my boxes checked but boy was a wrong.
arriving liberia
Getting on the bus in Nicaragua was no trouble at all. The bus was a very nice bus, and its final destination was San Jose in Costa Rica; however, there was a small stop in Liberia. Since Liberia is closer to the Western part of Costa Rica, this was going to be significantly more ideal for me. When we arrived in Liberia, I got off the bus with only one or two other passengers, as the rest were heading on to San Jose. All the reading I had done at that point stated that we would be dropped off at a bus station in Liberia. When I got off the bus, I realized we were at a gas station on the side of the road. There was no bus for miles other than the one that I just got off of. Suddenly, I was not feeling as confident anymore. I realized I would have to use my broken Spanish to try to figure out where I would need to go in order to catch a bus to Tamarindo. I went into the gas station and they pointed to a bench that was across the street on the opposite side of the road stating that is where the bus would come.
catching the bus in liberia
While I was at the bus stop, I struck up conversation with a man sitting there. He informed me that he would help me to get where I was going. He was also going to be taking a bus, but he was not heading to Tamarindo but in a similar direction. He was a friendly older man and the other people on the bench seemed to agree. When the bus arrived, he told me this was the correct bus and I boarded with him and some other passengers. Once on the bus he told me that I would need to change buses and he talked to a girl on the same bus who said could get me from this bus to the next bus stop. When the bus stopped at her stop, he told me to go with her.
random car ride
I went with this lady who brought me to a car of her uncle’s. She said she would drop me at the bus stop. I had a sinking feeling because I didn’t really want to get into a car of someone I did not know, but now I was even more in the middle of nowhere and felt like I did not really have much of an option. This is the part of the story whenever I tell the story to friends or family when they get upset with me getting into a stranger’s car. I actually didn’t really get horrible vibes when I first got in the car and as we were driving along the highway. I felt quite a bit worse when they turned down a dirt road and then stopped the car. There they said the bus stop is right along the road while pointing back to the highway.
the side of the highway
Once again, without much option, I got out of their car and walked back to the side of the highway. As I stood there alone with my backpack without any indication there was a bus stop (ie no bench or marker) I just was hoping that there really would be a bus heading this way going toward Tamarindo. There was a sense of relief in some way that I was out of a car of the stranger and also a sense of dread that a bus may never come and that my only other option would potentially be hitchhiking my way in the correct direction. This is also hard to believe but this was at a time before smart phones so it was not even like I could turn on my phone and pay global data to see where in the world I was. So, I stood there. First it was 10 minutes then it was 20 and my feelings of whether not I would have to hitchhike grew ever increasingly higher. All the sudden, a man showed up on the side of the road about 1/4 mi from me. I figured well I better go talk to him ask him some questions. It was the biggest relief to hear him say that yes this is where we would catch the bus to Tamarindo. The bus did not come for another 30 minutes and using my broken Spanish I was able to get the story of this young man. He told me about his job, his wife, Tamarindo and more. I probably understood about 75% of it. Honestly, I was so thankful he was there. I am not sure I would have been ok waiting for over an hour on the highway alone for a possible bus to maybe come. At last, a bus with big letters on the top stating Tamarindo showed up. I couldn’t have been happier! But this isn’t the end of my journey.
arrival tamarindo-the grand search
I talked to the bus driver about where I was supposed to be meeting my friends and he informed me that he would let me know when was appropriate for me to get off the bus as that was slightly outside of town. The bus driver dropped me off in a very residential area and I told him thank you very much. Next, I would have to locate where this property was for me to me up with my friends. They had given me the address so I thought it should be fairly simple. Once I started looking around at the streets, I became increasingly confused. Once again, I relied on the assistance of strangers and started asking passersby in the street to assist me in getting where I needed to go. First, one person told me that I needed to go right. I would be walking right for some time and then not finding the location would ask another person who then told me to go left. At that point, I realized I was walking and circle after circle and not getting anywhere. I went into a very large hotel hoping that perhaps the front desk or concierge person could assist me. Unfortunately, they were also unsure of where this condo was located. Defeated, I walked out realizing that I may never find this location and maybe I should look for a restaurant, bar, or coffee shop where I could get on to the Wi-Fi and send my friends a message to come and get me when they arrived. I had no idea what time they would arrive, and it was starting to get dark, and I was starving, had to go to the bathroom and feeling like finding this place was impossible.
the end of my journey
While I was walking out of the hotel with these thoughts in my head, someone from the hotel ran out after me and said they thought they might know what I was looking for. They walked me over to the most hidden little office. Graces be, it was in fact the little condo office! They were literally about to close in 15 minutes, and I made it there just in time. They gave me the key and started telling me the directions to get to the condo. Completely exhausted from the day and after walking in circles for over an hour, I asked if there was any way they could actually walk me to the condo. They said they could after they finished their last 15 minutes of work. I’ve never been more relieved to wait 15 minutes. Let me tell you I am so glad that I did that. The condo was like impossible to find. I would have been roaming the streets again- now with a key- and no idea where to go. I opened the door, got inside a beautiful condo, and sighed the biggest relief. I went to the bathroom- which I had wanted to do for hours and barely sat down on the couch when all my other friends came rolling in laughing and joyful from their preplanned and seamless journey. They were never going to believe what I just had been through, I thought as I shared for the first time a story I will never forget.
