NICARAGUA - Granada - 2012

November 2012 – Arrival day
Well I arrived in Nicaragua via the land border crossing at Penas Blancas on the Pan American Highway.  I took the TransNica bus from Canas Costa Rica to Granada Nicaragua.  The total drive time on the bus was about 3 hours with an hour spent at the border for Immigrations and a Customs check.

COSTA RICA - Tronadora - 2012 - House Sitting

Well here I go again doing one of the many things I enjoy, off on another house sitting assignment.  For the next few months I'll be house sitting, posting blogs, and writing about my travels while living the life of Pura Vida (the pure life) in Costa Rica.  I'll be staying by Lake Arenal so some day trips will be taken.  As with all my house sitting assignments, I'll be on the property every night.

My journey will start tomorrow morning (10 Aug 2012) at about 3:45AM to catch a flight leaving Tampa Florida, through Atlanta Georgia, to San Jose Costa Rica.  From San Jose, I'll take a bus to Tilaran where the home owner will pick me up and off to the house we'll go.  The home owner leaves for their vacation a few days later.  We'll get to finally talk to each other face to face, go over the final details, I'll get familiar with the area, and all will be good.

So, get ready to read the blogs, enjoy the pictures, and make comments as you see fit.

FLORIDA - Lakeland - June 2012 - House Sitting

Good day to all.  Here I am again house sitting within my home state of Florida.  It’s a lot like my last house sitting gig it Tampa where I had no plane tickets, no international border crossings, and no worries about lost luggage.  My location of choice this month is the mid-size city of Lakeland which is about half-way between Tampa and Orlando Florida.  It’s about a 1 ½ hour drive from my home, but yet a place I have not been too in a very long time.

HONDURAS - Tegucigalpa - May 2012

COSTA RICA - Tips and Reviews - UPDATED - November 2012

Entry and Exit

San Jose Airport (airport code SJO)

Arrival - The entry process is typical of most international airports.  The immigrations and customs speak some English and the lines are generally short and move fairly rapidly.  When you exit the terminal there is usually an agent of the airport that can help you through the chaos and assault of taxi drivers.

NICARAGUA - Tips and Reviews - UPDATED November 2012

Entry and Exit

Penas Blancas (land border crossing between CR and Nicaragua on the Pan American Highway)

Entry – I entered Nicaragua via bus from Costa Rica and can only explain the process I experienced. Traveling through in a small group or by private auto may be different.  The bus initially stopped at the CR immigrations where my passport was stamped for your departure.  We were greeted on the bus by a Nicaraguan who took our passports and $13 USD to get our inbound visa for Nicaragua.  We then rode the bus for a few hundred meters to the Customs inspection of our bags which took about 30 minutes.

PANAMA - Panama City - Jan & Feb 2012 - HOUSE SIT

15 Jan 2012
Well I’ve started my Panama house sitting gig. This house is actually a Spanish teaching school with locations in Panama and Costa Rica. It’s a very interesting concept that it includes class time, local immersion, and adventure tours (white water rafting, scuba diving, surfing, etc), check out their website at “Spanish at Locations” (http://www.spanishatlocations.com/). For now, the house is a transfer point where students stay for a day or so before catching a flight from the national airport. The plan is to also teach classes here, so in the near future, the school will have four locations.