We tried to set off early from Santa Domingo but a combination of me barely being able to get out of bed with a vicious stomach bug and then not being able to locate our cash card (we found it eventually) left us hurtling across the island to try and make the 9am ferry back to the mainland. Luckily we made it, and were heading west towards the border an hour and a half later. I'm no longer going to go into the exact logistics of border crossings - if you want to know more about the specifics and what you need please use the contact page, but we have been using a great blog that explains everything very clearly with up to date info from 2016 - we'd highly recommend it : www.atewasabi.com. The Nicaraguan side involved the usual steps of handing over a few dollars here and there for goodness knows what, more 'helpers', more people checking the VIN and plates and for the first time, the contents of our luggage. It was about an hour before we were heading to the Costa Rican side.
As we pulled up along a queue that snaked round and around and then for many metres up the pavement, we knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. The queue itself took just over two hours, with me dragging myself along the floor concentrating on not giving into the uproar going on in my stomach. Then it was over to another area to buy compulsory insurance and queue again for an import permit. This took at least another couple of hours, and our patience grew thinner and thinner with how the proceedings are so stupidly laid out and managed. It's a shame because this was the third country that had started like this for us, and it always leaves us emerging into a new and exciting place feeling exhausted and angry.
Nevertheless we made it through and gave up on our intentions of making it to Monteverde which was a further 4 hours away (it was already 4pm) so settled on the urban sprawl of Liberia, an hour and a bit from the border. There's not much to note about Liberia - it's a busy town on the Pan American that sees a lot of traffic passing through and for us just a pitstop to recuperate.
A combination of a few bad nights sleep and 7 weeks on the road together had left us feeling a little drained and a bit touchy and argumentative with each other, and at supper we finally brought it up and tried to address what was wrong. We always knew there would be ups and downs but that doesn't make the downs any easier, particularly when you rely so much on each other. We put it down to the combination of the riding in Nicaragua being rather dull, and then partying too much in San Juan Del Sur - for the last week or so we'd somewhat lost what our trip was all about and I think that's what left us feeling touchy and uninspired. That and being constantly on the move, packing and unpacking, never staying anywhere longer than a couple of days, always sweaty and dirty, was bound to take it out of us eventually. But I know I find it hard to admit when things are overwhelming, because it feels extremely ungrateful and somewhat ridiculous to have any such negative feelings when on such an amazing adventure. But I think recognising the lows with the highs will help us moving forward, because since we addressed how we were feeling we've found a new lease of life, and are back to loving our adventure more than ever. And about time too, with only one more country left before South America!
More about stunning Costa Rica in the next post!