International Zarpe
03 August 2011 | Golfito
Sunny when it is not raining or dark
Today we launched our treasure hunt for our “international zarpe” This is the document that is necessary to prove that you have legally left one country bound for another. Without this document you may not enter the next country, so worth whatever it takes to obtain.
1. Off we went by taxi to the port captain’s office to advise that we wanted to leave. He hand wrote a note for the bank to obtain a receipt for $20 to exit, and advised us the next steps in our hunt.
2. Arrive at Migration, where he collates copies of our vessel documentation, crew list, copies of our passport and copies of customs forms from the entry process in Cocos northern Costa Rica.
This was going well until I noticed that he had stamped the wrong month in the passport.
I pointed this out and started a bizarre process to remedy the situation. He started by voiding the original July stamp and adding the correct August stamp. Then he ripped up all the copies I had brought for him. He made new copies from my original and we started over. After thinking about it though, he decided to create a new document in triplicate for each of the passports to acknowledge the error. We signed and I thought we would get a copy but no,he folded up the newly created document and filed it in a desk drawer. I have no idea what they do with all the extra copies they create in every office but I did notice there are no file cabinets??
This man was very helpful letting us create our own crew lists and then making copies, and he invited us to visit “his” country anytime we want in the future.
3. Off to customs, and after only one false start selecting the wrong customs office we exchanged our package of copies for an original customs document.
4. On to the bank for our receipt. This is a way that countries prevent graft. We give the bank $20 in exchange for a receipt. The hand written note was helpful to get the process started but my teller had to consult with two fellow tellers to get the process finished .
5. Final leg now back to the port captains office for the final prize the “international zarpe”
All in all, pretty simple process, and so far the least expensive. Costa Rica was nothing to enter and $20 to leave (not counting the taxis). However we have heard of $75 and way up to do the same thing we just did. Apparently going south to north is more difficult than going north to south and certainly having a marina do it could be several hundred so we count ourselves lucky once again as we head off to panama.