Dear Nica Times:
I just got back to San José, Costa Rica, from Nicaragua, where I had rented a car for the week.While in Nicaragua I was stopped twice at police checkpoints. The second time, while leaving the northwestern city of León, the police wanted money and I had to pay them 600 córdobas ($33) to get them to let me go on my way.
During an earlier trip to Nicaragua last November, the same thing happened to me in Managua; I had to pay police at a checkpoint when they started asking for money.
The moral of the story is that here in Costa Rica this doesn’t happen.My next trip to Nicalandia I am going to use the taxis and buses. I am tired of giving the police money.
José Pierce
San José, Costa Rica
