"Gavilanes" Earn A Living From the Chaos at the Peñas Blancas Border
The chaotic situation at the Peñas Blancas border with Nicaragua assures the "gavilanes" - young men and women hustlers - an daily income as they help out, for a fee, foreigners fill out their paperwork and in many cases get ahead of the line.

The gavilanes promise of saving time is a fact, as can be observed on any day at the Costa Rican immigration post, as foreigners waiting in line to have their passports stamped to either leave or enter the country, are wisked to the front of the line.

Some gavilanes charges as between us$10 and $20 for a saving their "customers" the wait of up to an hour in a line that is filled with odors of urine. Other gavilanes make their living selling forms, that are free at the immigration counter, for up ¢100 colones, while others make a living exchanging currencies.

The majority of the gavilanes are young residents of the neighbouring towns on both sides of the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The lack of information by the immigration service and constant long lines on the Costa Rican assure the gavilanes a living. The situation is different on the Nicaraguan side, as immigration officials are quick and ready to provide information and the lines are not so long. However, the gavilanes prefer the Costa Rican side of the border as they can charge more for their services that on the northern side of the boundary line.

Those passing through this border point for the first time have to usually ask for help. The only signs posted are the "entrada" and "salida" (entrance and exit) and then they are faced with the confusing signs at the counter where people are directed into two lines, one for entering Costa Rica and the other for leaving Costa Rica. However, confusing things even more are the fact that once a person reaches the counter any of the immigration officials will handle the entry/exit request.

The biggest demand for the gavilanes services are in the mid morning to noon, when a number of buses coming or leaving Costa Rica all come at the border control point at the same time.

Making their job and the keeping of a promise difficult are the members of the Fuerza Pública (police) posted at the doors of the immigration office. These officials try to keep order and give priority to the elderly and children with babies in arms. However, some gavilanes have established a relationship with the officials who allow at times the young person to wisk their customer to through.

All transactions have to be done personally. The gavilanes can only speed up the process of getting a person through the line but cannot present any documents to the immigration officials, despite any promises to the contrary.

To leave Costa Rica, a person has to personally submit their travel document (passport) and the complete form which the immigration official checks for any "impedimento de salida" (any bans on leaving the country). The transaction is free of charge.

In the past visitors to Costa Rica who overstayed their visa has to pay a fee (timbre) that at one time was as much as us$30, plus a "cruz roja" stamp of ¢200 colones.

There is no charge for coming into Costa Rica either. All persons, both foreign and nationals, have to have their passports stamped. Nicaraguans have to have an entry visa issued by the Costa Rican consulate in Nicaragua or they are denied entry. Once the passport is stamped by immigration officials, all packages and bags have to be inspected by customs officials.

If coming in by car, the vehicle has first pass through fumigation and then checked by customs officials, who will ask for the vehicle's registration and ownership. Once the vehicle and its interior have been inspected and the documentation are in order, customs will issue an exit permit that is required to be presented at the gate several hundred metres away.

If the vehicle is of a foreign registration, a temporary permit is issued and obligator insurance has to be purchased. The temporary permit is usually valid for the same period of stay as the owner of the vehicle and can only driven by the person named on the permit. There is no charge for this, save the cost of the insurance, which is about ¢5.000 colones.

Once the permit has expired, the vehicle has to leave Costa Rican territory. There is one renewal allowed as long as the owner of the vehicle has left and re-entered the country prior to the expiration of the vehicle's temporary permit. If the vehicle remains in Costa Rica past the expiry, it will be subject to confiscation and fines that can be in the thousands of dollars.