I have known Erik Shiozaki for more than 25 years. In the 1990's, we shared an art studio in Berkeley, California. At that time, Erik was an independent filmmaker and photographer. He is currenty the owner/operator of Vaya Con Silla de Ruedas, a paratransit tour business in Costa Rica.--Roxane Gilbert, Art2u

Perspective: Next Trip to Nicaragua, Someone Else Can Drive
by Erik Shiozai

© 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Reprinted by permission of the author
Originally published in The Nica Times, September 21, 2007

"We are regretfully suspending our tours to Nicaragua. Due to unfavorable economic and political conditions we feel that it is not advisable to enter or travel in Nicaragua at this time. Hopefully it will become more favorable in the future, so that we can once again offer touring into this historic and interesting country..."

I am planning to post the above notice on my web site. As a paratransit tour operator for people with disabilities, I feel that I must take this action and warn others about driving into Nicaragua based my personal experience.

Last month I took my daughter, Rachel and her two girlfriends on a private weekend tour to Granada. When we got to the border we had to go through the usual procedure of inspections, obtaining permits and paying fees. There was no problem other than the wait -- two-plus hours on the Nicaraguan side.

The official inadvertently put three people traveling on the permit instead of four. My name was listed as the driver/owner so I assumed that the number three referred to the passengers. I assumed wrong.

This resulted in incident # 1 with a police officer just outside of Rivas. He flagged us down upon seeing our Costa Rican plates (probably a red flag). He asked for the vehicle entry permit and pointed out that we were four. I politely explained that this was a slight oversight made by the border official. But the cop continued harassing me over it and that he had to issue a $40 ticket and that one person would have to leave the vehicle.

Obviously we weren't about to do that, and anyway what he was really after was a bribe. After 20 minutes of negotiation, we eventually agreed on a $10 "pass for four" and three brownies.

The second incident came while I was driving after dark on a road entering Granada, where a traffic cone had been placed in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. I accidentally bumped it and didn't realize what happened until a motorcycle officer stopped me a couple hundred meters ahead.

He told me that I had to pay a "multa" for hitting the cone and also for the "damages" to the cone. I followed him to a nearby station where we were surrounded by a half dozen cops. They showed me the cone that had no real damage such as a break or crack. There were only two black marks near the top where my bumper apparently hit it.

In any case, they made it seem like I had just committed a major crime. The officer immediately took my license away and said that he'd write me a ticket. Instead of doing this at the scene, he told me to go to my hotel in Granada and that he'd find me later.

After an hour or so we finally met up, and he gave me a ticket and he said that I could pay it in the bank the next day (Saturday). I did as he instructed and called him on his cell phone to show him the paid receipt.

He then returned my license, but I wasn't done yet. I still had to pay for the traffic cone. I was either give him $25 then and there without an official receipt, (since he was off duty and he didn't have any with him) or buy a cone in Managua.

I was going to Managua the next day, so I decided that the second option would be best -- to have an actual cone and a receipt. In reality I could have just skipped this and no one would have known otherwise.

Incident #3 occurred just outside of Masaya on the main highway later that afternoon. The police were stationed at an intersection pulling over cars . In this case the officers said that I didn't make a proper right turn signal, although there is a designated and protected turn lane for doing so. After explaining the violation and fine, the officer actually came out and said "tengo hambre almuerzo." In other words, if I gave him and his partner money for lunch, they'd forget about the ticket. They each got 100 córdobas ($5.50) to "do lunch."

Incident #4 happened the next day (Sunday) as I drove solo to Managua to drop off some items in my van. Just before Masaya there was another traffic checkpoint; and like in Costa Rica, cops don't need probable cause to stop cars.

The officer could not tell me that I had done anything wrong other than having Costa Rican plates. So after looking at my license and documents, he said that everything was OK and that I was free to go. However, on my dashboard he had spotted a spray can of mace. He explained that his department does not issue such equipment and that he really needed it. He also said that he was hungry.

Ultimately I helped in equipping him with a chemical agent and another handout. It seems that 100 córdobas is going price for a lunch instead of a ticket.

Incident # 5 came in Managua, not on a traffic stop but rather at La Plaza Del Sol, where the traffic cop in incident #2 told me to go for the replacement traffic cone. Something got lost in translation because when I arrived, an officer at the main gate told me that it was the National Police Headquarters.

I related what had happened regarding the traffic cone. He informed me that there was a hardware store nearby where I could buy a cone the next morning, on Monday. After awhile he offered to provide me with one from their storage supply.

While I waited for the cone, I asked him why the police were making so many traffic stops. He candidly explained that the government has not been paying them their salaries. He told me that he has been a cop for 16 years and that he had not been paid for 3 weeks.

The end result was that I left surreptitiously with a $20 cone, which he conveniently put in a big plastic trash bag for me.

My last obligation was to deliver the traffic cone to the police station in Granada. After discovering the traffic cop who gave me the ticket was not on duty that day, I left it with his fellow officers. One of them hand wrote a receipt on a piece of paper and said that it was official. I took a picture of the cone on the desk with the officers just in case.

Please e-mail me at vayacon@racsa.co.cr and I'll send you a copy if anyone doesn't believe it.

So if you were planning to take your car into Nicaragua, especially if you are thinking of doing so with Costa Rican plates, I'd have your córdobas ready!

By the way, they're not just picking on foreigners, a Nicaraguan told me the same thing had happened to him.

As a tour operator, I will not subject my wheelchair clients to these conditions. It is disgraceful that police officers are harassing motorists for money.

Shame on the Sandanista government for allowing such unprofessional practices.

This was the first time that I've experienced such shakedowns in all the times I've been to Nicaragua. In short if you have to travel there, remember the old Greyhound slogan "Take the bus and leave the driving to us."