You will have to ask Costa Rica why they insist on such border crossings. Some think that…They assumed that if you are planning to travel by road into Costa Rica you needed another adventure.

This can take anywhere from a half hour to 2 hours +…

Driving your vehicle across becomes a little more complicated. If taking another person’s vehicle your plan… It would be a lot better if you did not do that.

For those who drive their vehicle the list below will be of much use. Not thinking of driving? Then just delete those parts ot items pertaining to vehicles.

Items required:

• a couple of pens – in case one gives up on you
• valid passport with current stamps
• valid exit visa stamp if you are a resident of Nicaragua but not a citizen
• valid exit documentation for your Nicaraguan vehicle should you be driving. With the local Officials it could at least take from a half a day to 2 days depending on your luck. At the town where your vehicle is registered, this is given from a local Policia-.
• valid vehicle registration card – circulation
• proof of insurance for your vehicle
• cedula – should you be a resident
• valid drivers licence.
• 3 photocopies of your passport (main page), vehicle registration, insurance certificate, exit visa for your vehicle, cedula, (include front and back side of all documents that have printing or stamps)
• patience – generally more then usual – simply because you do not know what kind of adventure you are going to run into.
• a spare batch of patience just waiting for the real fun adventures you may have.
• a high dose of positive attitude and humor
• plenty of small denomination bills – Cordobas or dollars (US) on the Nicaraguan side and Calones or dollars (US) on the Costa Rica side. Knowing how to deal with the coyotes will get you a better exchange rate then at the bank. You would have to know the exchanged rates in order to do that.

Commonly it takes around 30 minutes to 1 hour. It can take longer if the traffic at the boarder is heavier than usual. Mostly for each country there is an equal time.

Going out of Nicaragua:

First charge. The cost for 4 people to cross the boarder with a vehicle is 80 Cordobas (about $4.00). Tax for the local town. The number of people in the vehicle being the determining factor.

Once you have paid for the entrance into the border you must go to the offices where you obtain a free customs form. The building is where you see all of the buses lined up in the center. In order to register where you are from, where you have been and where you are going….

Important! Have your passport out and ready to complete the prope information out. (Generally most of the times the forms arebilingual both in English and Spanish)

As soon as you have the forms filled out you must stand in line…

…Did I mention patience?

At the time the Migrations Officials stamp your passport and sen you to your final destiny. Non-resident’s cost $5. Any time, this can changed,.

IF you are traveling with your own vehicle you must also go to another office on the Nicaragua side.

Where you get here the local inspector will provide you with an inspection form, then if you are lucky and the Policia are on sight you should have them sign off on the inspection,.

With the vehicle inspection form signed off by both the

• inspector and
• Policia

you then get to stand in line to have the migration officer check for

• properly signed vehicle inspection,
• the proper registration,
• insurance,
• exit papers for your vehicle, and
• driver’s license.

When they approve then you go to the next line to wait and have the Policia check for the proper registration, insurance, exit papers for your vehicle, and driver’s license.

To be able to proceed to the next stop- the migration exit post, everything has to be approved beforehand for you to received a vehicle exit ticket.

At the exit, hand your exit ticket to the offical and proceed to the fumigation office. The cost approxmatly will be 60 Cordobas. $4.00) and this for the spraying of your vehicle to disinfect it before going into Costa Rica.

Then, you drive to the Costa Rica boarder buildings and …

Join us for the rest of the adventure of crossing the border…Literally saving hours to other motorists!

So why would you go to a sea life centre? What is so special about these places, well they give us the chance to see some truly amazing marine animals. For some people it is just easier to go into your city and head to the nearest sea life center. It is much cheaper to go to the sea life centre. The whole point is, that those that haven’t really thought about going on a diving holiday, you should reconsider.

There is a common misconception that these diving holidays are extremely expensive and only for those that can afford to embark on these luxury holidays. However these holidays are now really quite cheap. If you are actually there it is a clear and present way to demonstrate to people what these marine species are like in the wild. The massive advantage is your on holiday; they are usually beach holidays as well. So there is plenty of sun and sand, a few drinks and a dive in the ocean, preferably before drinks.

So although you can go straight to the sea life centre without travelling that far, do you really get that much of an experience out of it. These diving holidays do really give people the opportunity to experience something that a lot of others won’t do and not to mention you will probably have the most amazing time of your life. If you want to spice things up a little more then you can go shark diving, obviously for the more adventurous of the lot of you though, but these holidays are becoming extremely popular.

The first recorded detailed writings in Africa were those written by the Egyptians in 4000 BC. It was really striking how much acumen they had acquired over the years, the managed to demonstrate their abilities by constructing structures of massive proportion that have lasted for thousands of years. If you take the first detailed writings of the world to be the sign of the first civilization, then the Egyptians were at the top of the list. Even before this, over 100,000 years ago, the plains of Africa were very different. Fossils showed that they supported Homo sapiens, which are the same genus as us.

The African Countryside was as said, very different to the desolate plains it is now. After the ice age had happened at around ten millennia in the past, the land of what we call the Sahara Desert was all grassland. Thanks to land like this, the options for farming would have been easy. Because of the positioning of Africa on our Globe, the area begun to dry up and Desertification took place. These people would then have had to migrate to plains with more grassland. By 3000 BC some civilizations across the world but specifically in Africa had started domesticating animals like horses and donkeys to do farming work.

Africa has been celebrated for its completely unique art. It would be impossible for you to find the amount of assorted arts and cultures in any other country compared to that of Africa. Regardless of where you travel through Africa, a person will be able to locate a different piece of culture from different sectors. It is very clear however, that all across North and South Africa the sculpture of people was spread. They have created this in the image of those that have passed away, people that were or are still loved ones, or gods and chiefs. The African speciality was Abstract art, they created much of it, but recently they have become quite skilled at creating pieces of Contemporary art~The African speciality was Abstract art, they created much of it, but recently they have become quite skilled at creating pieces of Contemporary art.

The best way to find out about Africa yourself; is to go on Safari. Kenya safari has become a popular holiday to find out more about the Land of Africa.

Gear Essentials
·Day Pack (you are going to be stuck with for some time)
· Flashlight
· Compact Binoculars
· First Aid Kit
· Sunglasses
· Multi-tool
· Watch
· Sunscreen
· Water bottle (with built-in filter)
· Hat
· Whistle
· Map or Travel Guide
· Compass or GPS receiver

Pre-Departure
· travel documents
· Visa if needed
· health papers
·Verified Transportation Tickets
· Frequent Flyer Cards
· Emergency Information
· Insurance
·Hotel Reservations
· relevant foreign currency
· Currency (both local and American)
· prepaid international credit card
·travel guide book
· Trip Cancellation/ Medical

Information
·Updated Copies of Passport, ID and Documents
· Special Event Reservations

Rechecked Travel Gear
· Main Travel Bag (Duffle/Luggage, etc.)
· Packing Accessories (clothes, small stuff and toiletries)
· Security (Passport carrier, luggage locks/ tags)
·Easy to use Document Organizer
·Everyday Bag

Everyday Basics
· Travel Clothing
·New Raincoat/ functional Umbrella
·travelling shoes
· Visor or Brimmed Hat
· Camera.Most weather Lenses and Film
·Radiation Shield for Film
· Video Camera, Tapes
· CD/ Cassette Player
·Quality Electric/ Phone Converters
· Travel Alarms
·language translation books
·Reading Materials(or should I rather say readable)
·Address Notebook
·Travel Event Log
·Pen/ Pencil
· Scarf/ Bandana
·Games/ Playing Cards that you enjoy
· Snacks
·Hand Sanitizer/ Towlettes
·Travel Neck Pillow
·Clean Eye Shade/ Ear Plugs
·Working Door Lock
·Tissues/ Toilet Paper
· Keys

Handy “Swiss Knife” type Maintenance Tools
· Flashlight Batteries/ Bulbs
· Matches or Lighter
· Extra Batteries
· Sewing/ Repair Kit
· Duct Tape
· Travel Iron or Steamer
· bathroom sink stopper
· Zip-Close Plastic Bags

Travel Health
· Uddated Travel Health Guide Booklet
· Pain Reliever/ Aspirin
· Cold Medicine
· Contact Lens Items
·Diarrhea Medicine
· Motion Sickness Remedies
· Laxative
· Insect Repellent
· Sun Protection
· Antibiotic Cream
· chloroquine
· Personal Hygiene Items
· Personal Prescriptions

To conclude,travelling may not only be for vacation. As I speak, my wife had to spend the whole day to travel out of state to go get her sister and take her to the passport office to renew her travel documents because her husband lost his mother and they need to travel to Ghana next week to bury her.

Things would have been smoother if she had, done this renewal long ago because the Embassies can not guarantee a quick nor instant renewal.

Waiting is not fun when you are a Prince back home in your village ,and these files are served on a first come first serve basis.