Back to Costa Rica

Yesterday morning, Ken very kindly drove me into town to catch the 08:30 bus, which saved me the hassle and expense of a crack-of-dawn taxi. Then, I spend a glorious eight hours traveling to San Jose. The ride was uneventful except for the part where we crossed the border.

First, we had to go through a Panamanian inspection in which we were all removed from the bus and lined up single file, our luggage placed beside us. After waiting fifteen minutes, a guy with a gun and a German Shepherd came and had the dog check our bags for drugs. Four people got pulled out of line and taken behind a one-way mirror for “further inspection”, but I passed.

Next, we all had to pick up our luggage and place it on a long table behind us. Another guy with a gun then had us open our bags so that he could give the surface level of the contents a quick poke and a cursory glance, then we were finished this stage.

After that, we had to walk two blocks back into Panama, pay a flunky at a card table $5 to affix a postage-like stamp to our tourist cards, then go to another window with the tourist card to have our passports exit-stamped. Then we were allowed to walk back, right past the drug inspection station, and into the small Costa Rican town of Pasos Canoas, which is sort of like a demilitarised zone, except with a military presence.

At the end of town is a Costa Rican customs wicket for passport stamping, and another (even less efficient) luggage inspection station. No dogs this time, just another lineup for a pointless glance at my dirty socks. I could easily have picked up a kilo of coke after my Panamanian dog-sniff, walked it into Costa Rica and handed it off to a mule, and then continued on through Costa Rican customs.

Apparently the Panamanians don’t want you to REMOVE drugs from their country, but bringing them in is fine, as my original entry through Guabito had no inspection at all – just a person to collect the $5. Perhaps the customs procedures are just show for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, who seem to patrol the coasts in shadowy black helicopters. Or perhaps an efficient drug reduction effort would hamper the ability of the CIA to keep the drugs flowing and funding their covert operations, a la the Iran/Contra affair? Just asking!

Anyway, an hour and a half to cross the border – and that’s with no line-up.