Now that's the rest of the story

So there we were…two travelers with almost no money, no place to stay, no idea where we were going, and heading into a big, dangerous city at dusk. I don’t recommend it.

Once on the bus, Nickele and I began discussing how we were going to find the embassy. Luckily we drove past a shopping center and caught sight of someone in a blue police uniform. Talking to the police seemed like a good place to start. The first officer we spoke to was the opposite of helpful but the second was a blessing. This officer was very sympathetic and helped us get a taxi to the embassy. She even paid for our fare! We rode around in the taxi for about 20 minutes and then turned a corner and there it was: a giant white building with a very large American flag flying out front. It definitely made it into the top 10 happiest things I’ve ever seen.

Nickele and I headed for the front gate and checked in with the guard. He called the duty officer and told us to wait until she came down. While we were waiting, an embassy employee came out of the building and asked us how we were doing. We responded honestly, “Not that good. We were just robbed.” In response, he kindly offered to let us stay at his home. Nickele and I automatically said yes. Now I know what you’re thinking. How could Nickele and I get in a car with a stranger after what we’d just been through? Let’s face it, when you’ve already had most of your stuff taken there’s not that much more that can happen to you. And sometimes you just gotta trust a person. As it turns out, Bert & Kelly Kraaimoore are pretty much the nicest people on the planet. They fed us, let us stay at their beautiful home, and drove us around the following day. Nickele and I couldn’t have found nicer people to stay with.

The following day Nickele and I went to work with Bert around 7:30 and walked out of the Embassy with a new passport in hand by 10:00. We then took a taxi over to the Nicaraguan Immigration Office to get a stamp in the passport. That took a bit more time but by 2:00 we had the stamp. I told Nickele that this was the most valuable stamp she’s ever had in her passport. By 4:00 we were pretty much back to normal and the Kraaimoore’s were kind enough to let us stay at their house one more night since traveling around by bus after 4:00 didn’t sound all that fun.

The next morning we got a ride to the bus station where we caught a bus to Ometepe Island. We had decided that a couple days on the beach sounded like a much needed break. Not going to lie, riding a public bus after being robbed wasn’t the funniest thing I’ve ever done but Nickele and I made it through. After enjoying our time in Ometepe (very relaxing except for the 6 hour hike up the volcano but you know…) we boarded our bus for Costa Rica. As we crossed the border and got on our bus for Liberia, I breathed a sigh of relief. So nice to be home!