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 because of an unplanned stop at Gran Cayman island due to a medical emergency. Going through customs and immigration was quick and easy but as a last step there is a security scan at which a tomato and strawberry were confiscated from Diane. San Jose (metropolitan area population 2.2 million, more than half the people in the country; elevation 1,170 m) isn’t really a tourist destination. Upon arrival, most visitors continue onwards to the beaches, volcanoes or national parks for which Costa Rica is famous.