This morning we left for the airport at 3:15AM and the temperature was 8°F. If not for the anticipation of a tropical Costa Rican adventure, I do not know that we could have mustered the will to depart at such an hour into such conditions. We flew first to Philadelphia, pictured here at sunrise, then to Charlotte, NC and finally onto San Jose where we arrived by late afternoon. We rented a stick-shift 4×4 SUV equiped with a GPS navigator (the very best money we spent). For all its beauty, the roads of Costa Rica are not for the faint hearted and the universal lack of road signage a real impediment to going it on you own. Our first night was spent in Alejuela, close to the airport where we recovered from the day long journey.