Outside the terminal door we were practically assaulted by taxi drivers offering a ride to the city for $25 but we managed to find a bus stop and travel almost to the city centre for about a dollar each. When we got off the bus at a chaotic intersection, Diane instinctively knew which way we should walk to get to our hotel. We dragged our carry-on size suitcases along extremely busy, crowded sidewalks as dusk fell along streets lined with shops. Deep gutters sepa...

Very early in the morning on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, Diane and I set out on a 3-week trip to Costa Rica. I don’t remember getting up at 4:15 since my son was born almost 26 years ago. Going through American customs at Ottawa I was detained and questioned for a half hour because I have a Russian visa in my passport. The cold war is still alive! We took US Airways via Charlotte, N.C. and arrived at Juan Santamaria airport at around 4:30 pm, 3 hours late becaus...