We enjoyed our time in the beautiful Virgin Islands, but the truth is that we knew we would end up in Costa Rica before we set foot in St. Thomas. That being said, we didn't put a great deal of effort into non-enjoyable things like finding jobs or a place to live. We made some friends, and got to know the island well enough to come to the conclusion we could call St. Thomas "home," but not before we spent some time with the Ticos (what are ticos?).
We decided to purchase one-way tickets to Costa Rica. One-way tickets were a good choice for us for a number of reasons. 1) We didn't know when and if we'd be leaving. 2) They cost less than round trip (although, not 50% less than). 3) It sounds cool to say "I've got a one-way ticket to ______" and who doesn't like to sound cool.
Melissa and I wake up at sunrise on the first of September. We load our luggage into the car, and drive it to the dighie. We load up the dinghie and cross the channel from Water Island to St. Thomas. We load our bags into another car and drive to the airport. Then, we say goodbye to our amazing host, Karsci, and board a plane to Costa Rica. Actually, we board a plane to Miami where we are delayed for 3 hours, and then we board a plane to Costa Rica. The flight from Miami to Costa Rica passed quickly for me thanks to the September issue of GQ... the one with MJ on the cover (read it).
We get off the plane and get in line for customs. When we get to the kiosk, the immigration officer asks us the normal questions:
-Passports?---> Check!
-Purpose of visit?----Vacation!
-Date of departure?---> Unknown?---->Problemo, amigo!
It turns out that Costa Rica doesn't allow foreigners into the country unless they know exactly when they are leaving. I explain to the gentleman (in my broken Spanish) that we don't know when we are leaving, but he's not interested. There's a room full of people who need to clear customs. He passes us off to Sr. Paulo Cesar Chaves, the head of airport security. Mr. Chaves looks too young to be in the position he's in, but he has a smile on his face and offers to help us carry our bags. We follow him hoping he can sort everything out. He leads us back to the terminal that we came from and explains to us our options. Option 1) get back on the plane to Miami (which is boarding as we are standing there). Option 2) buy a one-way ticket (doesn't sound so cool anymore) to anywhere that doesn't rhyme with Costa Rica. Like I said, the plane back to Miami is boarding. We have to make a decision right now! We ask the TACA ticket agent what is the cheapest ticket anywhere leaving in 2 weeks. She tells us that 2 tickets to Guatemala City will set us back about $1000 dollars. Crap! Paulo pulls Melissa and I off to the side and quietly tells us to ask for billetes reembolsables... refundable tickets. He says that once we leave the airport we can contact the airline and get our money back, no questions asked. Rad! Senorita, dos billetes reembolsables a Guatemala City, por favor. Done deal.
Paulo walks us back up to customs. The room is empty now. We answer the questions again and show the officer of freshly printed tickets to Guatemala in two weeks. He stamps our passports, we grab our luggage, and we are on our way.
By now, the sun is setting.
When we check into the hotel, I request a refund for my tickets online. In a week I have a full refund for both tickets minus a $50 processing fee. Stoked. Thanks Paulo!
It's not an adventure until something goes wrong.-Yvon Choinard/Patagonia