seekingmygreaterperhaps

The only land border I will cross on this trip, I took a Tica bus from Liberia to Granada, Nicaragua. Before I get into my experience in Granada, I want to tell you about finding the bus.

I bought a bus ticket online with Tica Bus, which is a larger tourist bus that caters to people traveling (not necessarily tourists, but they aren’t a local bus). I was running into a lack of information and no one to ask, so if this will help anyone- let it be put into the universe. My bus ticket said 9:30- Liberia on it. I had to drop my rental car off, and on the ticket it said to get there 45 minutes early, so I was up early to make sure I had enough time to uber from the car rental place to the bus stop. Well, the “bus stop” is a fluid concept. On the bus ticket it says (translated) “in front of Hotel Boyeros, before the pedestrian bridge.” Well, those two directions are actually not in the same place. I have no idea where the pedestrian bridge is, but I can Google the hotel. I uber to the bus stop in front and wait. And wait. And wait. I know buses can be late, but it was 10:30 and I was staying to worry. Then a guy wearing a different bus company’s shirt approaches me and tells me that Tica Bus doesn’t stop here in the city, the bus stop is about a mile and a half up the road.

I panic. No wonder my bus hadn’t shown up, I haven’t been waiting in the right place! He asked me what time my ticket was, and even though I’m an hour behind, he says, oh you should be fine, just get yourself to the bus stop, and fast. He shows me on the map on my phone the “real” bus stop. Anxiety is creeping up and I call another uber, and it says 9 minutes away. Gah! Uber! Don’t you know I needed to be at the bus stop an hour ago?

Upon being picked up, my uber driver looks at me skeptically and tells me good luck, as he drops me off at the side of the road. That’s where the real bus stop is. Literally on the side of the highway, but there is a bench! At this point, I am praying about every 30 seconds, and panic texting Chelsea. She calls me and says that she can help me look up stuff in about 15 minutes, because if I miss this bus, I truly do not know how I’m getting to my next destination, I remember reading there were only 2 buses a day somewhere (no idea where). When I hear her ask, “are you okay?”- I allow myself a brief couple tears as I tell her I am literally on the side of the highway- alone.

Then, to my surprised delight, a family pulls up with suitcases and they join me at the bus stop! I ask where they are going and they are using Tica Bus to go to Nicaragua! Huzzah! I know I’m at least at the right stop… but their ticket is for 11:00, and it’s 10:45 at this time. Up another prayer goes that the bus driver will have mercy on me and let me on their bus.

Like a chariot of fire rising through the mist, a Tica Bus arrives around 10:52. The driver opens the doors and calls out MY NAME! MINE! I am shocked but am not about to ask questions as I get my bag tagged and find a seat on the bus. (I think what actually happens is that the time on the ticket is when Tica Bus leaves SJO, and the time they arrived to Liberia is how long it took for them to drive that bit.) It was a good thing I was early for my bus…

For any future travelers- this is the bus stop. Use this one.

After my heart rate settled, I tried to enjoy the journey. Just driving time isn’t too bad, but the border crossing took about 2 hours.

You need to pay $8 to exit Costa Rica (this can be done with a card). You’ll need $1 as a “local tax” in Nicaragua (feels like a scam, but… whatever), and then you pay the border agent $13 for your entry fee into Nicaragua. It’ll be helpful to have cash money for that part.

An aside, I recieved a fantastic compliment from a fellow passenger. Before you board the bus after going through the border in Nicaragua, everyone waits outside because a border agent has to check your passport. While we were waiting, and older man was trying to make conversation with me but spoke in quick mumbled Spanish. In Portuguese I replied- sorry one more time, and his wife taps his arm and said, oh honey she’s Brazilian. Yes! I will take it. My language brain hasn’t quite switched to Spanish yet.

When the bus arrived in Granada, it drops you off across from the old hospital. Lucky for me, it wasn’t raining and not a long walk, so I walked to my hostel from there, happy to stretch my legs after about 5 1/2 hours of travel.

The bottom line- God is good and He takes care of me. I travel knowing I have His protection, and thank goodness! This is also why I travel during the day, so there’s plenty of time for corrections if needed.

Stay tuned- Granada is up next!