A Safe Passage

In order to enter Costa Rica (and most other countries) you must have a round trip ticket as proof that you are going to leave the country at some point.  I did not want to buy a ticket back just yet because I do not know how long I want to travel for after my 6 months of working is finished.  I first looked into buying a flight from San Jose to Panama City (Panama borders Costa Rica) in mid-March before my 90 day visitor period was up to make it appear that I would be leaving but really I would just go to Panama City for the weekend.  A flight from San Jose to Panama City is about $450 round trip and there was no way I was paying that for a weekend.  I then looked into booking a bus ticket, however, you can only book the tickets in the country.  I stumbled upon a discussion board about buy bus tickets in Central America and one entry wrote about "A Safe Passage," a company that will book a ticket for you and extra documentation that will work as proof that you will be exiting the country.  I took a shot and emailed the company.  I got an email back almost immediately from a man named John.  He explained the process, price, and everything necessary to purchase a ticket.  It turns out that John has a sense of humor... below is part of my email conversation with him...

Sent - 7:23pm December 23rd

Hi John, 

I just made the payment.  I completely understand if the ticket is not processed until after the holiday this weekend, take your time and most of all enjoy your holiday! 

Thanks, 

Molly Stevens

Received -  7:44pm December 23rd

Hi Molly,

It is clients like you who make my work such a pleasure.  Thank you for your warm and caring sentiments.  I will have your ticket to you tomorrow and you also enjoy your Holiday.

John


Received - 4:38pm December 24th


Ticket purchased!  I will process and send it to you later tonight.

John

Sent - 9:18pm December 24th


Thank you John!  No rush.  Happy Holidays!


Received - 9:40pm December 24th 


It is not a rush, I will have it to you in an hour or so.  I ran into Santa while he was in route and I invited him to take a break and have some fresh coconut water with me.  We are both back to work.

John

Sent - 9:50pm December 24th

Hahahaha I'm glad you could hydrate Santa! He has a big night ahead of him! 

Received- 10:10pm December 24th   

A long message about my ticket and the process etc.  Then...

Social networking has become an effective way for travelers to share information with one another. If you blog about your travels, contact a travel site, or share your experiences on FaceBook or Twitter, please feel free to tell others about your experience with A Safe Passage. We would appreciate it, and it may save other travelers time, money and problems. 

Once again, thank you for your business. It was my pleasure having you as a client.  And have a Merry Christmas!!!!

John

PS.  Santa didn't have a onward ticket, I had to get him one also. 

This brought me a little Christmas cheer and I hope it does for you too!  Also, if you are traveling in Central America email John for a bus ticket!  A Safe Passage:  rchoice@racsa.co.cr

3 dollars, 2 jars of Peanut Butter, and a 1 way ticket to San Jose!

On January 2nd I will be leaving for San Jose, Costa Rica for 6 months then traveling around Central/South America for the 7th month!  As part of Northeastern University's co-op program I will be working for 'Trackit,' a GPS company in San Jose, Costa Rica.  Trackit makes the maps of Costa Rica for GPS's.  I will be taking calls/questions about buying the Costa Rican GPS maps from the US and Canada.  My boss said that there are only about 8-15 calls a day and it is mostly people asking if the map will give them directions in Spanish (all I could think of when he said this was Spanish Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3).  I will also learn how to help make the maps of Costa Rica for GPS's and add "points of interest" to the maps.  It could be kind of cool to learn how they make the maps but it has nothing to do with my career goals.  Therefore, the whole point of this experience is to (fingers crossed) become fluent in Spanish, or as close to fluent as a non-native can get.  I have a hard time grasping Spanish in a classroom environment so I'm hoping that 'throwing myself into the ocean' in Costa Rica will do the trick to help me learn Spanish.
I do not know a single person in CR and I am a little nervous/excited about that.  My boss, Wirlan, who I have had a few phone conversations with, speaks pretty decent english so I am hoping that he can help me a little with the bare essentials but I do not expect him to hold my hand.  I will be living in a two bedroom apartment (in a safe neighborhood) with another "Tica"(tico is what they call a native Costa Rican, tica for a female) who I am not even sure if she speaks english, which should be interesting!  For now this is about all I know!  I am going to try and keep up with this blog to update my friends and family so more to come once I get there!  Adios!