When the taxi pulled up at the hotel, it looked deserted. The street (more like a lane) was lined with houses with razor wire and bars enclosing their front verandahs!

it wasn’t the best way to end our trip, but we were only there two nights. (Other travellers said much the same thing, we had all booked it because it was close to the centre of town…not quite).

A half hour walk bought us to the National Museum, which was well worth the effort. It was housed in an old army barracks, and was handed over when the army was dissolved. Costa Rica does not have a military presence, only a police force. Imagine the money they save on not buying expensive out of date submarines!

Sunday afternoon in the city was a hive of activity. Families and friends were out in force, all enjoying the start of Summer.

This morning at 6:30, we caught an Uber to the airport, and started our journey home. First leg was to Guatemala, where we all disembarked, walked through the bowels of the airport, through security and back to the same plane! Almost five hours later arriving in LA, to once again go through customs, collect our bags and wait four hours for check-in to happen at Fiji Airlines, where the Rugby Sevens teams were also checking in. I think it will be a full flight!

It’s been quite a trip and I’ve learned a lot about an area we’ve usually only heard negative reports of on TV. The people here have suffered through a lot of hardships, the Spanish conquest, civil wars, natural disasters, political unrest and assorted other disturbing activities. But they are resilient and so positive about the future. Determination is their middle name! It was one of our more challenging trips, the heat was unbearable at times, but I’m so glad we did it!