Immigration Madness!

Yesterday my residency card was due for renewal. At the present time there is a major chaos going on with the immigration offices--well documented in the English language newspaper, "The Tico Times" last week. You have to wait for hours in a line (if you're lucky, the right one!) just to get an appointment for renewal! So, going with the flow of things, I got in line about 5:30AM (under a light drizzle) and waited for about two hours in the street for the front gates to open. I was 19th in line. Someone left a plastic chair in the street near where I was standing, so I picked it up and got the weight off for awhile. I had nice conversations with my in-line companions (all Nicaraguans). They saved my place in line when I needed a bathroom break--to return to the line moving through the gate! The line for renewing passports was about 200 meters long (past the last tree in the photo below). My line was shorter. The fellow with the open hatch-back of his car was selling coffee, hot chocolate and other goodies:
The passport line started moving about 1/2 hour before ours: The "goal" area is the building in the background (behind the BCR sign).
So, by about 9:30, I got to the window and was issued a sheet of paper with a date to appear for renewing my residence card. The date is 6th of June, 2007! These cards are required practically every day for any business transactions (like banking, etc.), but since I'm well known at our bank I'll probably be able to get by in the meantime.

(It could be worse--at least I HAVE a residency card! Some people can never get one...)

We always have hopes that the System will ultimately get upgraded on computers and become easier. Meanwhile, life in the Tropigs can be adventursome!