The jet lag caught up with us and we pacified it by catching a couple of hours of sleep this afternoon. The combination of poor sleep on the plane, the warmth and bright sun of the tropics, and the exertion of walking around in a strange place had given me a headache. Which brings us to the number one rule for foreign travel: Bring Aspirin. Not that I needed to worry. Jill's entire medical cabinet is contained in that one little magical pill. Headache? Have an aspirin. Feeling sore? Have an aspirin. Broken leg? Here's an aspirin.

After our nap, we got up and explored the hotel's facilities. At 5 p.m., the pool was a little too cold for either of our tastes (although Jill wanted to make sure I realized that she had swam in colder water in Wisconsin as a child), but the hot tub was inviting and just the thing to ease the stress of travel. You might think us wimpy--but realize that this day was "extra" on our trip. We had originally planned to be traveling on this day, still on the plane from the States, but when Randy booked the plane tickets, he found us an overnight flight. This entire day in San Jose was gratis compared to our original schedule.

And we did take advantage of it. Jill had wanted to obtain a guidebook to the birds of Costa Rica before we left, but had been unable to find one that she cared for at Powell's (surprising, given their stock). We dropped by The Bookstore here in San Jose, an English-language store, and found the exact book she wanted. Unfortunately, it was 11,000 colones (roughly $65) for a book that retailed in the U.S. for $35. Ah, well, we thought--that's the price of shipping and a captive market. Jill decided to forgo the book; however, the same store had some handiwork that we may buy in a return visit.

We also visited the "Oro Precolombrio" exhibit at the Banco de la Costa Rica, otherwise known as the Gold Museum. Artifacts found in this region, centered mainly on the use of gold, are shown in a well presented display that rivals any North American museum. We also looked over the "Nurismatic" showcase (the Costa Rican currency over time) and an exhibit of Costa Rican modern art. The latter had one excellent drawing of a tropical-like bird rearing back that both Jill and I were very impressed by.