Trucking in Costa Rica

We never knew for certain whether or not we would be allowed to drive in Costa Rica and we got so close but not quite there.

 

The drive to the border starter early at 05:30 with Ham holding his breath for a smooth run without any heating problems. His Lagonda now looks a little bit more mundane without the chrome radiator slats but needs must when you are driving a 90 year old car 20,000km! The irony was that it was now Nigel’s Lagonda that was experiencing heating problems and running like a bag of nails. And still the Rolls glides like the tortoise and the hare, effortlessly and gently onwards.

 

The Panama crossing was completed within 30 minutes and the Costa Rica side in about an hour. WE had all our paperwork to drive in Costa Rica! But….. we were told by Javier our truck driver that if we are stopped the danger is that the  police will impound the cars. Is that a risk worth taking? As we are debating the danger over a cup of coffee the customs guy comes over to tell us that we are definitely not allowed to drive in Costa Rica, the decision has been made for us.

 

The cars were loaded onto Javier’s rig and the crews into a mini bus and off we go to transit Costa Rica. For such a beautiful country it is a crying shame not to be driving but we had no choice. It’s particularly unfair on Rory, Ham’s co-driver and son, to have to spend his last day in a mini bus as he flies out from San Jose.

 

The morning was spent driving up to Jaco just west of San Jose through Palm oil plantations and along beautiful beaches. We had been advised all along by George Blau and his colleagues at the Costa Rica Classic Car Club. George and the clubs President, Diego, met us for lunch on the beach. They have been so kind and helpful, but sadly to no avail. Diego had received permission from the traffic police for us to drive but they could give no assurances about the customs police nor the national police both of whom could impound the cars. We had only seen one serious customs police check point but there was no point on risking it. Following an excellent lunch we met the cars for some photographs with George and Diego and set off once again, dropping Rory off near San Jose to catch his flight.

 

The geography changed dramatically north of San Jose and both bus and rig took a route through the mountains to avoid the traffic of San Jose. We had been told that the southerly border  crossing at Penas Blancas was chaotic and therefore had agreed with the Nicaraguans that we would cross at the easterly crossing which is much quieter and more remote.

 

We stayed at an eco resort about 45 minutes from the border. Despite having not driven all day, sitting in a mini bus all day can be quite exhausting so off to bed ready for another early start.