The rest of the story,or, Chapter two

When you are gone for a few months "shit happens". There were a few issues not on the menu when I left. A little plumbing, lots of dead battery's, empty fuel tanks for house heat, and a lot of catching up with people who were concerned about my well being. There was no problem occupying my time with social catch up, general maintenance and repairs around the house and garage.

The KLR was left in the hands of a bonded shipping agent in Costa Rica at the end of March, the deposit with a bonded shipping agent made the motorcycle exempt from the import duties and registration charges for Costa Rica. I flew home on the first of April and waited to see if I would ever be contacted by a shipper. 

The shippers have lead me to believe that the KLR is in transit and will be arriving in Tampa Florida soon. I think  "soon" in Tico might translate a little different than in Engles. So I wait for word from the receiving agent informing me of it's arrival and will buy a one way ticket to Tampa. There I hope to collect the moto and get some maintenance done in preparation for the ride back to the N/W. The KLR will need new brake pads, tires and an oil change, and I expect it might have starting issues because it has sat idle for 2 months with a gas tank at minimum. I plan to rely on local shops and AAA if I have to. Once in the "Way Back" I had to call AAA while on a tour in California while riding a Hyabusa, they are  helpful if you have the correct coverage.

I expect the trip back to the Low Foggy and Soggy will be a lot different than the first leg. The weather will be more hospitable and I don't expect to be accosted at gun point when I cross the border from Arkansas to Missouri, but like the man said "paddle faster I hear banjo's". Different roads different challenges. I plan on taking a little more time and relaxing the pace this leg.

Nicaragua revisited

While in Jaco I had a chance to go to Nicaragua on an excursion by rental car. The Expats that reside in Costa Rica on visitor visas have to leave every 90 days to have their Visas renewed. The most common trip is a jaunt to Panama for a four day weekend or up to Nicaragua for a getaway. Using the local bus system is an option for travel and a travel business has built up around the Visa renewal getaways. Another option is rental cars. We made arrangements with a national rental car company to provide a car for the trip from Jaco to the Nicaragua border. There we would cross the border on foot and pick up a rental car from the same company on the other side. My memories of border crossings left me a little skeptical about this arrangement going smoothly. My fears were for naught, the crossing was seamless and fast. The traveling party was made up of four adults and a three year old. I could not believe the change in attitudes of the officials when you have a blond blue eyed three year old in your arms. No hassles, escort to express line, respectful responses. So much for profiling.
Near Granada there is a 200,000 year old volcano that imploded and created a crater lake. On the shores of this lake (Laguna De Apoyo) the Nicos have built a few resort hotels, one of these San Simian, was our destination. Our arrival was a little late and the staff held over for a fifteen minutes to make sure we had a chance to get dinner. At about seven O'clock in the evening we found out that the bar closed at five.The angst over the prospect of not getting a beer was relieved when the manager made arrangements with the night watchman to open the cooler for us. Jorge was an attentive and an appreciated provider of iced buckets of cold beers.
The lake was warm fresh water the food was good the beer was cold the ambiance was delightful. Small cabinas on the slopes over looking the lake, sleeping under mosquito netting, was a very fun time. It cost 20 bucks to take a 1 1/2 hour horse drawn carriage ride in Granada, with historically significant sights pointed out by the driver.
I know it didn't fit the Motorcycle theme but this trip was a memorable pleasant part of the whole package.
The transit back across the border was even easier than the northbound leg.
Now its back to Jaco and address the issue of shipping the Moto