I did it again!

I carried two tennis rackets onto the plane and never used them during the five-day vacation. Hotels should issue rackets to their guests so that harried travelers would not have to lug the ridiculous and unwieldy implements from their homes to distant idyllic resorts.

San Jose, Costa Rica was our destination. It was planned for four senior couples. One dropped out due to an emergency back operation, one broke his knee-cap sliding down his driveway on black ice, one succumbed to an arthritic disc and my wife Lorraine and I were the sole survivors of this medical disaster. We decided to go it alone in spite of all the problems.

A sudden snow and sleet storm on the departure morning was another needless complication. With the windshield wipers and defrosters going at full speed, I turned the snow-covered car over to the parking attendant of Newark Airport. I had mixed feelings.

It was great going south to a tropical climate in the middle of a snowstorm (I recommend it to everyone) but you feel a bit of desertion to home, friends and family that have to remain behind and struggle with the elements.

Costa Rica was a pleasant surprise. Bananas are the main agricultural product but it is far from a Banana Republic. It is the largest producer of software in both Central and South America. The Latin Family and its traditions are immediately evident. The people are warm and friendly and the atmosphere appears to be a relaxed one, in spite of metal and iron gratings in front of the homes.

In 1700, coffee was introduced in Costa Rica. The coffee is fabulous. I looked forward to the end of a meal just to drink the coffee. I drank it without milk (ledne) or Sweet & Low. The coffee plants are grown on the mountain slopes. Each plant produces 150 delicious cups of coffee. Coffee is a difficult crop, according to our guide. "It is like raising a child," he said. Not until three years after planting can the coffee beans be processed for commercial purposes.

Because of King Coffee, railroads were built and bananas, coffee and sugar could be shipped. Beef is also a major export. So is tourism.

Costa Rica has no army and has Socialized Medicine. Costa Rica has nine major volcanoes. We traveled 9,000 feet up, across the Continental Divide on the way to Mount Peas and saw the biggest fog bank imaginable. No view today. However the lunch, vibrancy of the jungle plants and bright flowers were seen everywhere. I did not bring a machete but I can appreciate the difficulties of a nature walk.

We took an open boat trip up the Sarapigui River. It felt as if we were immersed in an Amazon River Travelogue. Lorraine and I became Bogart and Hepburn as we intruded on the white-faced monkeys, iguanas, herons and other fauna on the verdant tropical vine-covered banks on either side. The warm jungle air breezes brushed our faces and delivered serene tranquillity.

Lunch was served under a corrugated steel-roofed, open-sided hut on the river, for a home cooked Costa Rican style meal of rice and beans, salad, beef and wonderful coffee.

Enough of nature!

We returned to our hotel with its open verandahs and modern facilities and restaurants. Casinos were available for after dinner entertainment.

My wife and I kept meeting Americans who have opened gambling and "bookie shops" who used modern technology and 800 numbers. I placed no bets with these shady, North-American characters.

The natural wonders alongside modern conveniences makes this small country (half the size of Kentucky) a colorful and exciting travel adventure.

The hotel casinos were our source of evening entertainment and we dealt only in American dollars with no problem. We did not receive any shots (injections) and the food and water offered us no difficulty. We brought back the delicious Costa Rican coffee as gifts.

We arrived back in Newark Airport after a five-hour plane trip and the weather was 50 degrees. Go in a blizzard; return on a spring-like day! That is what I call great traveling!