Out of Nica

We got a ride to town from Harry, the super cool local guy who works for the house rental agency.  From their we got a cab all the way to the border.  Why not?  Because we can.  I still wonder how a one hour cab ride costs the same as ride home for me on a Saturday night - and I can walk home in 20 minutes, if not for the three feet of snow and blistering -24 degrees. 
The view out the cracked windshield was spectacular.  I can´t believe that the volcano is actually an ISLAND inside Lago Nicaragua.  Then, there are actually TWO volcanoes, as in twin peaks.  Ha!
While Nicaragua has been a highlight, the borders have easily taken the cake as the most disorganized and corrupt borders we´ve been to - ever.  In fact, we felt that things may possibly have regressed from 12 years ago when we first passed through this border.  Transport trucks are lined up for kilometres leading in and out of the border on both sides so there is only one functioning lane, which is used by vendors to peddle food to the truckies sleeping in hammocks under the shade of their rigs.  This working lane becomes a stand-off between people trying to get where they are going, like us for example, and the occasional fed-up truckie who decides to take it into the open lane.  The result is what is known by expats as : making easy things difficult.  Apparently it can take days for these trucks to get through this border.  Why?   This is the only border we have been through that is like this.  Why?   How is it that scheisters walk around selling you the immigration entry forms for two dollars right in front of the border police and no one does a thing about it?  Never mind the fact that I didn´t fall for the trap, they act pissed off by the fact that I didn´t fall for it.  So many questions.  At immigration, while fending off these dirtbags, we met up with a couple from Canada.  They were the same age as us, roughly, and had kids the same age as ours.  They live in Costa Rica.  Dan, invented the tool that removes the kingpin from skateboard trucks.  He has the patent on it.  Cool.  Yet random.  Once we all cleared out and were stamped into Costa Rica they offered us a ride in the back of their truck to Liberia.  We accepted. Ali and I sat on our backpacks and the boys started out safely on our laps, but soon were crawling everywhere and playing with all the new toys in the back.  We ended up at Mc Donald´s where all four of the kids were in heaven.  Normally I would say that I can´t remember the last time I ate at Mc Donald´s, but in fact I can, since we went to one in El Salvador in a town where every other food option was closed.
We are in Liberia for the night.  Going somewhere else tomorrow.