Days 62 to 65 - Granada, NIC

Day 62:

The ride from Leon to Granada took us half a day. We hit the worse paved road so far in South America... Actually, I wouldn’t even call it ''paved'', as there was about 50% of asphalt left, with huge pot holes all over. Even with the DR's long-travel suspension, we were unable to ride faster than 70 kmh, as beyond that speed it would be risky to hit something and fly over the handlebars. Fortunately, the nasty stretch only lasted for about 30 km. We tried to so some more dirt tracks, but eventually gave up due to navigation problems. Our maps were not precise enough, and the trails were getting really confusing, so we decided to not waste anymore time and headed back to pavement.

Once in Granada, we found a hostel and parked in front to see if they had room, and for how much. All was good, so we headed back to the motos, as the receptionist opened the gate for us to park the bikes inside. We were on a one way street, so Mihai and Josh u-turned and rode the 15m or so to the gate. I went last, and as I turned around, I came face to face with a cop on a small bike. Shit. 

The guy pulled me over, obviously. At first, I played dumb with the ''No hablo Espanol'' line, but unfortunately it turned out that this guy spoke fluent English. Shit. The other odd thing in this situation is that he looked a lot like Lou Diamond Philips, a fairly known actor (remember the movie La Bamba?). 

I tried to explain to LDP that I was just looping to enter the gate, and that it wasn't really going against the traffic. Even the receptionist had my back, and she confirmed my story. But LDP wouldn't have it, so I just told him to write the ticket and I'll pay it (not to him, obviously). After the Acapulco episode, I was determined not to bribe anymore crooked coppers. That's where my saga began. In Nicaragua, when you get a ticket, it goes like this:

1) your license is confiscated

2) you have to bring the ticket to a bank, which will issue you a receipt after payment.

3) you bring the recipt to the police station, and they give you your license back.

Now that doesn't seem too complicated, but it turned out into a mess.

Once LDP handed me the ticket, I didn't go to the bank right away. I was hungry and needed something to eat, and also I wanted to check directly at the police station if it was no bullshit.

After having a bite, I went to the police station. They told me that I did indeed have to pay the fine at a bank, but that it was too late that day and they were closed already. Shit.

Day 63:

I woke up at 8 am, and went to the bank to pay my fine. Once at the police station, I was told that the office where I was supposed to claim my license would only open at 2 PM. Shit.

So I went back to the hostel, and we agreed that Mihai and Josh would get going towards our next destination (San Juan de Sur), and I would catch up later that day.

At 2PM, I was back at the police station. There were several other ''offenders'' waiting to get their papers back. The whole process was slow and completely disorganized, Two hours later, I was told that they didn't have my license: LDP didn't turn it in at the end of his shift the previous day, and apparently he was off duty that day too. Shit. 

I was told to come back the next day at 10 AM...

Day 64:

The next day, I was back at the police station at 10 AM. The whole situation was not looking too good: if I didn't get my papers back that day, the next day was a Sunday, and then it was Xmas. I could see how I could get stuck in Granada for a week... or more, if LDP trashed my driver's license.

So I got to the police station pumped, knowing that it was do or die that day. I started bugging every cop in sight, repeating the same story. At first, the lady in charge, ''la jefe'', told me that they didn't have the key to the office, the douche that had it was doing traffic somewhere in town, and they didn't know when he would return. I had nothing to lose at that point, so I just stuck around for another 1.5 hours, bugging more people. Finally, at 10 am, the door to the office opened magically, and I got my license back. Hell yeah! I strolled off to the hostel with a big smile on my face, packed and left for San Juan del Sur.

The whole process was one of the most patience trying events I've been through in my life. However, these problems are part of a trip like this, and I was well aware of it before undertaking this trip. My morale is still unscathed :)

Not many pictures from Granada, as I had bigger fish to fry during my stay there ;)

At Hostel Oasis, where we stayed.

My hosts during my stay in Granada

Almost 3 days later, my driver's license finally appeared through this little window.

Lou Diamond Phillips (LDP)...lol

LDP writing my ticket