Just a few minutes after our photo tour clients met up with our tour guide yesterday and pleasant introductions were finished, a police alarm sounded and the previously docile crowd of about 50 skaters huddled under the temple in Parque Morazan ran towards the east side of the park to greet thousands of skaters hurdling down Paseo de los Damas. 

The flash-mob style event sponsored by Emerica was in action in its route through San Jose, starting in Barrio Aranjuez and ending in Parque de la Paz. The company which specializes in skater apparel brought 5 of the top ten best skate boarders to Costa Rica for a day of WILD IN THE STREETS. Some of the kids are pictured below with the legend Bryan Herman.

Our photographer clients were thrilled with the rare opportunity and consumed with the enthusiasm radiating off the majority teenage skaters. This was the urban equivalent to boating through a Costa Rican pod of dolphins! Because our tours are never larger than 8 people we were able to seize the moment and rework the tour to accommodate the twenty minutes or so it took for our clients to photograph the event. Can't wait to see their finished photos! 

Starbucks has completed the purchase of 240 hectares in Costa Rica near Volcán Poas. The company's mission with the farm is to test different growing methods to develop its own coffee and to 

The municipality of San Jose will host its tenth Transitarte Festival this weekend. The project aims to bring art into public spaces. All events are free and attendees will find a variety of workshops, concerts and art for sale amongst the downtown parks of Morazan, Jardín del Paz, España and Nacional.

Scheduled highlights include workshops on hydroponics, rock concerts by bands from other central american countries and art for sale by vendors leading current design/fashion trends in Costa Rica. 

In addition there will be 2 nights of movies under the stars Fri. and Sat. inside CENAC. 

A full schedule of Transitarte is available. We also recommend starting Sat. morning at the Feria Verde in Aranjuez and Sun. morning stretching in yoga at 10:00 a.m. at Downtown Yoga. 

From time to time I get to guest write with the English-speaking newspaper The Tico Times. 

Last Sunday I had the pleasure to finally participate in a biking event with the 3-year-established Chepe Cletas, a group working on promoting zero transmissions as a way to create a better San Jose. 

After being temporarily gifted a bike I took off with this group to see how the group has advanced and to see for myself what changes were happening because of Chepe Cletas and what challenges still exist. 

You can read my review of riding a bike in San Jose. Overall, I had a great time socially and look forward to the next event, but I realize we are farther off from a bike-friendly San Jose than I was hoping. 

Our walking tours strive to show tourists and expats the history and new advancements that give this city great potential. Chepe Cletas is also working towards the same goal. We want a healthy San Jose, a city people can be proud of at every turn, but it will take the effort of more than a few hundred people to create this change. Please continue to support downtown businesses and activities -- We get the city we deserve.