Foggy Mountain Pasture

This is a photo of a foggy pasture on the slopes of a mountain outside of San Jose.  The Central Valley and mountain areas of Costa Rica get a lot more rain than the northwest province of Guanacaste where Tamarindo is located.  We have a sunny, warm and dry season from November until April, but in the mountains around Sam Jose it is common to experience rain and moderate temperatures in the 70's (F) (22-26 C) year round.

News about Crime in Latin America:  AMERIPOL, an organization of police agencies in Latin America, held a conference recently in San Jose.  The authorities addressed the fact that the homicide rate throughout the hemisphere increased by 12% from 2000 to 2010.

Costa Rica has a low crime rate compared to its neighbors, and its homicide rate dropped by another 15% from 2011 to 2012, and is dropping some more in 2013.  The Costa Rican Security Minister was quoted in the newspaper as saying that the reason for Costa Rica's success was gun control.  It seized 3,000 guns during the last year.  He said that 78% of homicides are committed with guns, and if people don't have guns they solve disputes with words or, at worst, fights, but not shooting.

The above comment is not intended to enter the debate about gun control in the USA.  I am just sharing the news about what has happened in Costa Rica.

This week photos of the architecture of Ronda, Spain, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.