We arrived in the outskirts of San Jose a week ago, in a small town named San Rafael. I had met John, Max and Bill in Granada, Nicaragua. They are all expats living in Costa Rica for many years and had offered me a place to stay.
My plans to ship Bluebird from here to Ecuador fell apart upon learning,the Roll on/Roll off
service has been suspended indefenitively from here and there hasn;t been any from Panama for some time. I could ship Bluebird in a container for appx. $ 2000 from either here or Panama, but that is a lot of money. The cost from Panama to Colombia is just about the same.
So our trip came to a grinding halt. Now what.....?
It rained for at least 5 days straight with intermittent downpours. Although we have a comfortable place to stay, I felt stuck.
Many calls and more research on shipping possibilities led to nothing new. Brrrr.....
Max offered his garage to park Bluebird securely and we could fly to Ecuador, knowing that the bus will be okay. It had already occured to me to leave the bus behind and backpack into South America instead. But what about my stuff? I can not backpack with the guitar, the drum and a slew of other things, besides the necessary clothing and shoes.
I spent a few days struggling through the mace of thoughts and what I knew deep down, that needed to happen. John and I drove all over San Jose from one government agency to another, figuring out how to get an extension on my car permit and the mandatory insurance, but ran into one block after another. Leaving without the proper documents was not an option either, as there would be hefty fines and taxes to be paid later.
When it comes to dealing with government agencies, Costa Rica is still very much black and white. Finding the agencies is even more of an adventure. They are tucked away in inconspicious buildings, with no signs or hints of their existence, all over the city.
By the first of October I had enough, something needed to shift. I realized, I still had not really made a decision on how to proceed or what I wanted to do.
I had a dream the night before. We arrived in Ecuador with a backpack only, but when I opened it, there was nothing in it. I had forgotten all my clothes. "Oh gosh", I thought,
I will have to go back and get it."
I decided that morning, to fly to Ecuador....since my inner compass had been urging me to get there and come back later to pick up Bluebird, drive to Panama and then cross to Colombia and drive from there to Peru eventually. Somehow I know, that portion of the journey is to be made with someone else. Why...? I have no clue.
Miracously, on Friday, everything fell into place. There is such a thing, as suspending the car permit, by parking it in a custom;s certified secured lot, where I can pick it up whenever and have the remaining time left on the original permit. Very simple...and it only costs $ 16 a month. The same day, the veterinarian called, to let me know, he had obtained the stamp from the Ecuadorian embassy for Sky,s papers and we are good to go.
Wow...what a process! I am so happy today, dancing around the apartment and clapping my hands to music inside my head.
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