Hi everyone.  On February 11th,  I left for Costa Rica on a ten day photography adventure with Road Scholar.  Naturally the weather all winter in Toronto  had been terrific with very little snow except for the day I left. So there was a delay leaving due to the required  de-icing.  Still I managed to arrive in San Hose only an hour or so late and fortunately the driver that the company had arranged to take me to the hotel was waiting for me.  The first thing  I noticed was how busy the airport was-there was quite a long line to  get through customs.  Fortunately the line moved quickly.  The other thing I noticed was that once we had our luggage it had to go through  the X-ray machine again.    It was about a 40 minutes drive to the hotel in San Hose  and the driver was nice enough to point out various sites of interest along the way.    The hotel was not in a very nice area,  however it  had some colourful gardens and a beautiful dining room.  I met a few of the workshop participants taking pictures around the complex (who would have guessed).   It was not safe to leave the complex so I didn't get a large variety of pictures.   Sharon( one of the participants)  and I had a great dinner outside overlooking the beautifully lit pool and gardens.  While we were eating dinner we were fortunate to witness  a special party at the hotel.   I believe it was called "Quincenera" and is a huge traditional party which serves to  present a fifteen year old girl  to the world.  

This is a photo of the Casa Conde Apartotel & Suites that I stayed at.  It was so nice to go from snow to beautiful gardens and warm weather.  

This image shows a different view of the hotel and gardens.   Notice the painting on the walls in these photos.   Ox-carts have become synonymous with Costa Rica.  The ox-cart seems to symbolize the self-reliance and fortitude of the Costa Rican farmer.  

Here is a close up view of the cart.   What great colours.  I read  that the oxcarts were used exclusively to transport coffee and other agricultural products well into the 20th century.  We actually saw some in use in the countryside.  

Now for a close up of the wheel.

Finally a picture of the ox.   

This is a close up view of one of the outside walls of the hotel.   

Now for a horizontal view of the wall.  

Finally a photo of a different part of the hotel.