Passport stamped at Nicaragua outpost
Trip Start
Feb 08, 2000
1
6
8
Trip End
Feb 29, 2000
Today we bussed to a river boat with benches and awning to hold about thirty people. We would go down the Rio San Juan which flows into the Atlantic Oceon. However short of the oceon we would divert to a canal which would take us to Tortuguero.
Since the entire San Juan is legally deemed to be Nicaragua territory, ie the border does not run down the center of the river but is on Costa Rica's right bank. Therefore, Nicaragua required boats on their river to stop off at a small immigration post on the north side of the river and have passengers get their passports stamped and pay a fee, actually rather token. The officers were pleasant enough even when many of us presented our USA passports. I asked one of them if he would sing his national anthem which he proudly did.
The trip down the river was peaceful and enjoyable with a fair number of sitings of exotic birds and other fauna. We arrived in the isolated town of Tortuguero that evening and put up in a rather primitive hotel. Meals on our own at local restaurants.
Sean McFarland would drive our bus overland and meet us in Limon on the East coast in a few days.
Since the entire San Juan is legally deemed to be Nicaragua territory, ie the border does not run down the center of the river but is on Costa Rica's right bank. Therefore, Nicaragua required boats on their river to stop off at a small immigration post on the north side of the river and have passengers get their passports stamped and pay a fee, actually rather token. The officers were pleasant enough even when many of us presented our USA passports. I asked one of them if he would sing his national anthem which he proudly did.
The trip down the river was peaceful and enjoyable with a fair number of sitings of exotic birds and other fauna. We arrived in the isolated town of Tortuguero that evening and put up in a rather primitive hotel. Meals on our own at local restaurants.
Sean McFarland would drive our bus overland and meet us in Limon on the East coast in a few days.


