Our flight was at 3.30 so we ordered a taxi for 1 o'clock and took advantage of the late check out the hotel had allowed us.

In contrast to the menace of the night previous, San Jose was yet again a loud and bustling street scene, full of people doing the shopping, sitting and watch or selling.

In the Mercado Central, we bough an oil painting of Volacan Arenal and some toucans which seemed to sum up the holiday.

When Joan's mother was alive, she used to ask her to light a candle wherever Joan went on holday. It is a tradition we have tried to keep up. In the Metropolitan Cathedral, there was a mass being celebrated so we waited till it finished before putting 100 Colones in a slot and an electric candle lit up. Joan vaguely recalled someting from Father Ted that did something similar. The light didn't stay on long.

One of the reasons we chose to return the car early rather than take it back today was to avoid driving in the capital. The place is busy, chaotic and has huge gutters to clear the rain. That said, San Jose is a small place and at the end of the streets, you could see the surrounding hills closeby.

Our taxi was a minibus shared with another family from England who seemed to have had a packed itinerary compared with us. We wondered how the cost would be divied up as there were four of them and two of us. Sharing wasn't cheaper - there is a fixed fee per person to the airport of 8,500 Colones.

Checking in was easy but our plane was an hour late. Time for a bit of a read and relax before the flight.