TRAVEL FEATURE - NICARAGUA
SANDRA STELIGA ( W ) / FIONA CHENG ( P )
YOU CAN ' T HURT YOURSELF IN SAND
It was another scorching when we crossed the border into Nicaragua with temperatures well over 35 degrees Celsius . And as always , we expected the border crossing to be slow and take up most of our day .
We ’ d left Canada almost a year ago and had ridden two up across the USA , Mexico , and half of Central America on our BMW F800 GS . We were in no rush . It was the trip of a lifetime and we wanted to see everything and soak it all in . Nicaragua would be no exception !
Yet another beautiful country which we stayed in far longer than anticipated . It was time to leave Honduras and explore new adventures in a country we ’ d heard so much about .
We ’ d gotten used to border crossings on this side of the world . They all required the same documents and a good amount of patience . But this one was a little uncomfortable . Drones are not legal in Nicaragua , and we had no solution for our problem . It had been travelling with us since the start and we didn ’ t know anybody we could post it to in Costa Rica or other parts of Central America .
What was the worst that could happen ? Losing the drone ? Getting a fine ?
Whatever the cost , we had to risk it . We tried of course to hide it in a less obvious place inside a duffle bag which was covered with more bags and a ukulele .
“ Do you carry a drone with you ?” the border official asked outright .
We had both hoped that nobody would directly ask us but had to shake our heads and reply that we didn ’ t . Then we were instructed to open our panniers and bags for inspection . My heart dropped . We opened the pannier boxes and one of the duffle bags . I was praying they wouldn ' t find the drone . We were in luck !
TRAVERSE 19