by Orin Hogan
One of the problems with living in Costa Rica is that the tourist visa only allows you a three-month stay, after which you are obliged to leave the country for at least 72 hours. Since we were living in the Province of Guanacaste, which borders Nicaragua, we figured a visit to this northern neighbor would be an excellent opportunity to not only renew our visa but to learn more about a country with which the United States has had strained relations for a number of years.
After an overly long bus ride we reached the border only to stand in line for three hours. Then, just as we got to the border control desk, the power went out. After another two hours, the power came back on, the computers rebooted, and we were able to continue our trip up to Granada.
Granada is a charming Spanish colonial city that has magically escaped being consumed by ugly concrete high-rises that blight so many cities. And as luck would have it, Granada was in the midst of a week-long celebration honoring its patron saint, The Virgin of the Assumption. Some of the festivities included parades of marching bands, processions of fine horses, and large statues of the Virgin Mary. All this culminated with a "running of the bulls" or what Spanish-speakers call a Pamplonada. Much to our consternation, a woman who was standing where we had been a minute before was gored and tossed into the air by a charging bull.
While we stayed in Granada for only 4 days, it was enough time to visit the caldera of the Mabuchi Volcano, go for a boat ride through Lake Nicaragua's Las Isletas, and get up to Catarina for the spectacular view of Lake Apoyo in the foreground and Granada and Lake Nicaragua in the background.
Though the trek up to Granada from Nosara was a bit arduous the visit was well worth it and we were able to renew our visas without any problem.
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