Line I

Our first appointment down in San Jose was at the immigration office,
where we met Manyane, the very helpful assistant here in Costa Rica for the firm that took care of our immigration paperwork.

Here's some of what we needed to get to the offices to get the process rolling: Certified copy of our birth certificates; a criminal background check; a certified copy of our marriage license; proof of bank accounts in the United States and Costa Rica.

Those, of course, needed to be translated into Spanish and then put into the system. It took nearly a year before we got the official stamp of approval, and then we had to go to San Jose to get things taken care of.

We arrived at the offices at 9:30 a.m. and met two other couples that Manyane had been working with as well. I spoke the second-most Spanish of the group, so Lucy was the main translator for everyone. Around 11:15, we were told that we all could now go stand in line outside of the main office.

Around noon-ish, Lucy was called back to the offices, while I waited. About 15 minutes after Lucy was done, it was my turn.

It was pretty straight forward: Make sure the name is spelled correctly, the date of birth is fine, etc.

After that, a printout was made and this was our official certificate-in-waiting until our cards were done.

We had two options for our cards: Return to the office in San Jose in 12 business days to collect them, or pony up 3,500 colones (around $7.00) each and the cards (or carnets as they're called here) would be at our local post office in La Fortuna in three days. No brainer on that call.

We now have our cards. However, Lucy's card is good for two years, while mine is only good for one. The reason? No one really knows. This way, I suppose, I'll have an idea of what it takes to renew next July