Getting a Nicaraguan stamp in my passport was more difficult than I anticipated. I was swindled by a money changer and attacked by a drug dog... but it's a very nice stamp.
I was standing in line at customs when a drug dog appeared out of nowhere and lunged at my backpack, clawing at it with his paws. Two members of the Nicaraguan drug police force pulled me aside and dumped the entire contents of my bag, only to have to try and fit it all back in again. I am not, of course, a drug smuggler, but it would seem, from my limited experience, that the Nicaraguan police force--or at least, the border patrol--takes things more seriously than do their Costa Rican counterparts.
I arrived in Leon, the second largest city in Nicaragua, in time for the festival celebrating Nicaragua's freedom and revolutionist Daniel Ortega. Throngs of people were gathered in the town square singing and waving flags. A thick cloud of smoke hung over the square from fireworks and cannons. The celebration lasted for hours... I never saw such a large display of patriotism in Costa Rica, probably just because I wasn't there at the right time. But after only a short time here, I would say that the difference between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is quite distinct.
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