Jan. 26

Buying mangoes through open bus windows, all aboard for the frontier, headed for Nicaragua, blue sky day as traffic ahead slows us. Bicycles on the edge of the hardtop riding without fear. Double clutch gear grabbing only to down shift and load one more old man. Always something outside burning adding to the interior aroma.
The frontier es muy dificil, with long line-ups and papers white and yellow for exit and entry and exit taxes and entry taxes and a dollar for every transaction and line-ups that go nowhere and the wrong colored piece of paper and get back in line to pay another tip and finally cross into Nicaragua, into a taxi passing smoking volcanoes, a ride that lasts 40 min. for $20US into the surf town of San Juan del Sur, where we dance into the night in a bright yellow bar filled with travelers and locals alike drinking cheap rum. It's 4-1, compared to the price in Costa Rica.