Costa Rica!

 At the beginning of December, we told the kids that Christmas would look a little different this year.  For the first time, we would be traveling out of the country for the whole Christmas break.  They knew we were going somewhere, but we wouldn't yet tell them where.  The older kids were very excited and begging to know where we were going.  Karly's initial reaction was a very sad one.  She lowered her head onto the counter and cried, "I just want to have normal Christmas, with presents!"

So in order to make all the Christmas magic come to pass, we got to experience it all, and had one of the most amazing and memorable Christmas' yet.  All the kids, especially Karly, were relieved to know that some Christmas presents were still coming, that we would celebrate and do all the traditional things on the 18th before leaving for the trip (rather than skipping it at and replacing it).  

After opening their gifts, there was one final travel box to be opened and the kids were very excited to learn that the following morning we would be leaving for Costa Rica!  This was something Eden and Bentley had already guessed so they were feeling pretty proud of their detective work.

We left home about 6:15 am the next morning, Dec. 19th.

We had a quick layover in Texas, and then out of the USA we flew!   Upon arrival at the airport, we found our guide, and while he strapped all our luggage to the roof of his car, we quickly changed into our sandals because it was much warmer than what we left behind!

We landed in Liberia and needed to drive to our first hotel in the Arenal, La Fortuna area.  On the way, our guide Sergio took us to get our first of many, authentic Costa Rican meals.  The kids went into the experience very open minded and willing to embrace the idea that food was going to be very different than what they were used to.  They did so good at trying so many new things, and they would fill their bellies, even if they weren't so sure it was what they would have ever chosen.  The food there was one of my favorite adventures! 

After a couple long hours in the car, and of course the many long hours in the airplanes, we were so relieved to arrive at Eco Termales Hot Springs in Arenal.  We learned all about the natural hot springs that were heated directly from the heart of the volcano.  There are tons of hot springs all over this town, but this one we went to had five different pools, each with varying temperatures.  It was such a beautiful place, with amazing plants, waterfalls, the sounds of the creatures and rain, and it was so relaxing after a very long day.  The down side to this was that we weren't able to stay nearly long enough.  Our dinner was at the restaurant located on the property and we took the last reservation slot for the night, otherwise we would have loved to spend much more time in the hot springs.

After a nice dinner, listening to the sound of rain while we ate, we made it to our hotel for the night.  We were all ready for a good night's rest before our adventures officially began!

Day 2, Monday, 12/20/21 - Arenal Region

The next morning we awoke to the beautiful view out of our balconies.  Everything was so lush and green! We were all so excited to start exploring and learning all about the place.

We got ready and met our guide Sergio at breakfast at the hotel restaurant, eager to find out more about our adventures for the day.  Our table at breakfast had a nice view of the river below, and we enjoyed watching all the beautiful variety of birds that would come in close to eat the fruit off the trees right outside the patio. I immediately loved that everything was so open to nature.

Our guide Sergio knew so much about the birds and wildlife and we were all intrigued listening to him teach us as we ate our food there each morning.

We also learned that the Costa Rican iguanas love to hang out in the trees.  See it?!

On the drive we also stopped on the side of the road to watch these Coatis creatures.  They are a strange mix between a racoon, monkey, and ant eater.  

After breakfast we were off to our first adventure of the day - hiking the Arenal volcano!  We learned that this is still an active volcano, and the last big eruption happened in 1968.  We walked through the rainforest trails and across old lava flow from that eruption, and the views in all directions were so beautiful.

As we walked, Sergio was teaching us the entire time.  He showed us unique plants, and small creatures, and how the termites would build nests in old hornet hives, etc.  It was all little details that we would have never been able to discover without him there.

Whenever there was a break in the foliage, you could see the actual volcano a bit better, but it was also pretty foggy and cloudy around the top of it so we never did get a clear view of the volcano itself.

The lava rock there was very similar to the rock we see here around our house in NM, but the kids noticed the difference was that their rock looked very solid, while ours here is very porous and has a lot of holes in it.  And another obvious difference, their lava rock is growing moss on it's surfaces.

As we were getting higher, and closer to the peak of the trail, the views were getting more and more beautiful.  From the top we could see more of the volcano, as well as Arenal lake. It was gorgeous.

After taking in the beautiful views, we continued the trail that looped us back around the other side, ending at a quaint little restaurant where we had lunch and continued to enjoy the perfect temp, and beautiful views.  

While waiting for our lunch, the kids had a trust exercise on this spiderweb net.  There was a lot of hesitation at first, but then they loved it and didn't want to get off.  We later found out those had just been installed the day before so they were one of the first to experience them! It was pretty creepy.

At this meal we had our first taste of salted plantain chips - yum!

After lunch we drove a short distance to our next adventure - the base camp where we would be canyoning.  Brad and I didn't know too much about what to expect - we were just going off what our itinerary described.  The description said, "We'll find ourselves near Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world today, tucked away from civilization in the lush tropical rainforest deep inside a vast canyon, rappelling down natural jungle waterfalls and hiking through the forested canyon's mountainous terrain."  Sounded fun and adventurous, but ended up being way more of a courage exercise than we thought!  Welcome to the adventures of Costa Rica kids - nothing like throwing ourselves down a 170' waterfall on our very first day!

We got all the gear on and they taught us all about the proper form and techniques to repelling; how to hold the ropes, and kick off the wall, etc.  After our teacher did a short demonstration on a pretend 10 foot wall, we proceeded to follow him out to the first platform and they started hooking us up to get ready to go over the edge.  We couldn't see what was coming, but we could hear the water falling below us and we were all getting a little nervous at this point.  I remember saying to the kids "don't look over the edge, just go with it" probably more to calm my own nerves than any of theirs!  Brad went first, then one by one the kids started to head closer to the edge.  Nobody was saying anything at this point, we were all still trying to figure out what the heck we had gotten ourselves into.  I was blown away at how brave everyone was!   It wasn't until we got down that we learned that it was 170' drop.  So crazy!

As Eden was going over the edge, Karly turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, "mom I don't think I can do this!"  I assured her that I was really scared too, but that we could trust our equipment to keep us safe, and that I believed we could do it.  She was crying and holding back, which the guides noticed and offered to let us go down side by side at the same time.  I told we could look at each other the whole way down and it would help us both be brave.  She agreed, wiped away her tears, and stepped up to the platform.  It was so brave.

I was smiling at her and cheering her on, but it was intense for sure.  I didn't want her to panic though so my goal was to keep her looking at me so that neither one of us would look down.

I was so focused on cheering her on that I wasn't totally paying attention to what I was doing with my rope and the direction I was headed.  Also with a little help from the rascal guide below pulling my rope, I completely ended up in the thick of the waterfall taking on a whole bunch of water as I descended to the bottom.

After the first one, everyone was so pumped and excited about what we had just done.  After doing that crazy tall one, the rest of the course was a piece of cake.  Even Karly was excited, and all the nerves were gone so everyone really enjoyed the final four courses.  It was exhilarating and amazing!

On one of the courses, it wasn't repelling, but instead we sort of zip lined out straight from the platform and then free-fall dropped into this pond.  That was crazy! All the kids loved it.

I just was completely blown away by how brave the kids were!  After that first huge effort to step off the platform and trust, it was just pure excitement from there on out.  They felt like they could conquer anything at that point, and the energy and excitement was so fun.  It was such a rush of adrenaline doing all those lines and Karly crashed out hard on our bus ride back to base camp. It was incredible to experience this as a family.  They definitely have a new boost in their confidence that they can be brave and do hard things.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the city center of La Fortuna for a little souvenir shopping.

Everyone loves this part - except the boys.

While in the city, we also went into a grocery store and got some interesting looking local snacks and treats to try.  The kids also convinced us to get a reliable go-to snack that they knew and trusted: Ruffles potato chips.

That night we had dinner at our hotel, and for dessert we tried the local, popular treat they call "the Churchill".  It was a combination of vanilla ice cream, a snow cone, powdered milk, and sweetened condensed milk.  It was definitely delicious.

Tuesday, Day 3 - Arenal: Campesina Farm and Proyecto Asis

This morning we enjoyed another breakfast with the birds at our hotel Tilajari.  There were so many pretty colors and variations, and Sergio taught us about their names and interesting facts about them.

After breakfast we were off on our first adventure which was Campesina Farm.  This ended up being such a cool experience for everyone.  He walked us through the farm and we tasted different plants and herbs, and learned about the uses in cooking and for medicine.  The kids did really good at trying whatever was offered - some yummy, some not so much.

We tried some star fruit, straight off the tree.  We had seen these before, cut into slices and decorating our drinks.  It was fun for us to see how they grew, and to try them fresh.

We also stepped off the path into the trees to look for frogs (the cool colorful type that we've only ever seen in tanks at the zoo).  We saw a couple, but that only lasted about 2 minutes before we were all getting eaten by ants and had to make a run for it. Once we were out of the trees, it was just fine again.

We also made a random stop at the bull riding station.  The kids thought this was hilarious and had never seen something like this before. Everyone but Karly thoroughly enjoyed it.

We visited some farm animals and got to hold baby chicks, and feed the goats and cows.

He then taught us all about the cocoa plant.  We had no idea that the cocoa beans are surrounded by this white, gooey casing.  It's a favorite treat there to suck on the whole white piece to get all the yummy flavor.  It was mixed reviews for our family.  The taste was good, but the texture was too questionable for some.

Then we wondered over to the sugar cane fields and he chopped us some sugar cane to knaw on.  That also got interesting and mixed reviews.  It was fun to watch the kids experiencing these new flavors and textures.

Next up - coconuts!  Olive remembered the fresh coconut water from Hawaii and wasn't going to try that again.  The rest of us gave it another shot.

Then our friend taught us all about the harvesting process of the coffee beans.  He showed us how they wear the baskets as they collect the beans.  Surprisingly, they hold a lot of weight after hooking those baskets around their waists.  Karly got to have a little ride from dad, which she was very nervous about.   We then got to see how they wash, dry, and roast them.  

He taught us about the annatto plant which was used as paint because of it's bright color.  They had fun doing a little face painting.

Next it was time to chop and squeeze some sugar cane so we could try the pure cane juice.  This, of course, they all loved, except as Bentley described "it was a little pulpy".

After all of those fun farm experiences, it was time to hit the kitchen for lunch.  We started by rolling out our own fresh tortillas.

Then we went into the kitchen to watch how they cooked them.  The kids couldn't believe their cooktop had real fire underneath.  So much effort going into preparing the cooktop alone, and getting the temperatures just right.  We really are pretty spoiled at home with our fancy, convenient cooktops.

While waiting for lunch, Karly and Olive had some fun with the dog that followed us around the whole day.  Then they also met a cat named Gatilda who hung out under Karly's chair for the entire lunch.

Our lunch was all ingredients directly from their farm.  It was so delicious! 

The dessert was a customary favorite-  fried, cripsy tortilla dipped in a maple syrup type sauce.  Yummy!

On our way out we stopped to check out this bright green lizard, with a brown, stick looking tail.  So many interesteing creatures here!

After leaving the farm, we were driving to our next stop and Sergio spotted a sloth in the tree.  This was our first of many sloth sightings on this trip and we were really excited.  This one was pretty high, so Sergio got out his telescope so everyone could get a really close look.  I didn't realize they have moss that grow on them so a lot of their hair looks green!

We learned a lot about the sloth from Sergio.  By this point in the trip, the kids were realizing that he had a lot of knowledge about everything in Costa Rica, so Bentley started calling him "Sir-nat-geo" instead of Sergio. He liked that and thought it was a great compliment.

On our drive, we also saw several monkeys swinging around in the trees.

Then we arrived at our afternoon excursion at Proyecto Asis, which is an animal rehabilitation facility.  

Our guide here was really energetic and fun and had the kids engaged the whole time.  He taught us about the facility, and it's mission to try to rehabilitate animals so they can safely be released into the wild again. We walked from cage to cage and learned about why the animals were there, and what they were trying to help them with so they could be released into the wild again. We saw beautiful parrots, lots of different kinds of monkeys, wild pigs, and a racoon that had been hit by a car and still suffered involuntary twitching while walking.

After learning about all the animals, we got to head to the "kitchen" to help prepare their next meal.  Each of the animals had a different mixture of fruits and vegetables so we each had to follow our own "recipe" for our animal to give them the right foods and quantities.

The kids took their jobs very seriously and made sure they measured things just right so their animal had the perfect meal.

Because the goal is to get these animals back into the wild, they want them to have to work a bit to get to their food. So once our recipes were ready, we had to put them into different "puzzle" type containers so that the animals would have to figure out how to get to their food.  Then every container got shoved tight with spinach and other greens.  The worker told the kids that even the monkeys needed their salad, and he would put that on top so hopefully they would eat it first.  The kids got a good laugh when the immediate reaction of the monkeys was to toss all the greens out everyone in order to get to the good stuff.  Just like my kids.

It was really fun to walk back through the park and watch as the animals figured out their puzzle boxes to get to their food. The kids loved feeling some pride in their animal as it ate the food they prepared.

After leaving the animal center, we went back to the hotel for some relaxation before dinner.  It was such a fun immersive and cultural day.  They kids participated really well, and genuinely were interested in all the new things to learn about today.  But with that said, they were also very excited to get back to the hotel for some afternoon swimming.

While waiting for dinner they worked on their travel journals.  Each day they included some notes and information from the day.  It's fun to read through each of the journals and compare what the highlights were for each kid.  We are all experiencing the same things, but it's really neat to read it from each of their perspectives.

Wednesday, Day 4 - Arenal to San Jose

Today was our last morning waking up in this beautiful hotel.  We had one final activity here though before we hit the road to our next city - horseback riding!  The kids were so excited, but first, breakfast!

While getting ready, we had a visit from some beautiful hummingbirds on our patio.

Each morning at breakfast we had some different flavors of fresh fruit juice.

Today we sat farther from the bird viewing spot, and closer to the river overlook area.  We did see a huge iguana warming himself not too far from our table. The colors of the plants are just so vibrant in every direction.

After breakfast we walked over to the stables to meet our horseback riding guides.  The kids had the option to ride alone, or with someone else, and they all chose to ride solo.  Aside from the pony rides that take you around in circles, this was a first time horseback riding experience for all the kids.  Doing it completely independently had me quite nervous for some, but I had to roll with their choice!  

They were so cute and excited getting up on their horses and learning the ways to steer and make them go and stop.  They were ready to go!

Once everyone was saddled up - off we went!  The hotel had several acres of farmland which is what we were able to ride though.  We would ride for a while before coming to a fence, which our guides would have to open and let us through.  Each fence created a good stopping point for everyone to gather again after riding for a bit because some horses liked going faster than others.

My horse "Tornado" was the youngest and most energetic.  I also learned that he didn't like being bunched up with the other horses.  As we were first leaving the stables, we were in a tight group and my horse started acting up, kicked Eden's horse and then proceeded to do a couple 360 degree tornado moves.  It startled me, and really freaked Eden out because her horse got spooked too, but she handled it so good.  From then on, Tornado and I hung back a few feet behind the crowd.  It was a good view though.  I loved being able to watch all my people experience their first horseback ride through beautiful country.

We rode through several cows, and through some creeks.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, just taking in all the sights.  Karly was back closest to me and we enjoyed chatting away about all the things she was seeing.  She looked so grown up there riding like a little cowgirl.  She loved it.  Eden was in the middle of the group, trying to keep distance from everyone so she could  keep things nice and steady.  Brad, Bentley and Olive were up leading the way.  About halfway through our ride, I noticed Bentley was getting a little bored and stir crazy with the slow, steady pace so he began experimenting with his horse.  It started as a little trot, and as he moved past Brad, his horse started to trot, and then Olive's horse didn't want to get left behind so she began to trot.  I was watching all of this unfold from behind, wondering if this was going to be fun for Olive, or if it was going to end in disaster. Fortunately, they came to a fence and it forced them all to stop.  However, once they got through the next fence, Bentley kicked away and off he went, off Brad went, and off Olive went.  All I could hear was nervous laughter, and then squealing as the horses got fast and faster.  I couldn't tell if she was liking it, or terrified, but she held on tight!  At every fence they would be forced to stop, regather themselves, then off they would go again.  It was entertaining to watch (and listen to).  Olive still doesn't know if she liked that or not - "it was both fun and scary all at once" she says. The way Olive tells the story is so funny. Either way, she felt she had no control over her horse; it was going to do whatever Brad's horse did, and that one apparently only did what Bentley's horse did.  So cowboy Bentley was causing all the fuss/fun.  

As our ride was coming to a close, we came upon a sloth in a tree.  We stopped and watched it a while, which means we didn't see it do much except slowly grab for a leaf.  ha ha 

After our horseback riding fun, we hung out by the pool and laughed about Bentleys chaos while Dad and Sergio checked us out of the hotel.  They were all so proud and excited that they could ride horses all by themselves!

That afternoon we drove from Arenal to San Jose to meet up with the rest of our tour group.  On the way we drove over the "cloud mountain".  Sergio was saying that all year long this roadway is covered in this thick fog.  It was so hard to see anything at some points.  Kind of creepy.  I'm glad it wasn't night time.

After making it through the cloud, he took us to lunch at a locally owned place, run by a sweet old lady who has been running that restaurant for years.  The girls ordered smoothies and loved that they came in a small pitcher with a tea cup.  Definitely a highlight for them.

I ordered some chicken tacos and they were AMAZING!

As we continued our drive on to San Jose, we stopped in the little town of Zarcero.  We got out and toured the square, with the church and gardens out front.  The plants in this courtyard were so cool!  They had shaped them into animals, buildings, and tunnels.  It was beautiful, and the kids had a blast running through the tunnels and under the plant canopies.

They gave their best effort at "prayer hands" for the photo in front of the plant church.

Then we had a lot of fun experimenting with the panoramic feature on the phone, and the openings of different tunnels.  Everyone was seeing double!

We were all wishing we had this cool tree in our backyard.  The kids imaginations were running wild playing in here. 

They also had some beautiful mosiac walls, which only interested the girls.

Nice handstand Eden!

And I couldn't believe how huge and beautiful the hydrangea plants were.  They were everywhere here along the road sides, and in yards, as if they were a wild flower.  They were amazing.

The main church building was under renovation so we couldn't go in.  However, there was a very small chapel on the side that had open doors so we peeked in at the beauty.  The vibrant colors and stained glass were so beautiful.

Then, for the reminder of the drive, some of the lucky ones got a little cat nap, we ate some Costa Rican snacks, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the countryside. 

Then by late afternoon we arrived in the big city of San Jose!  We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Bougainvillea, which was right downtown, with a great view of the soccer stadium.  All of a sudden though, it seemed very loud.  I realized very quickly how much I had loved our quiet tours through the small towns and villages.  Part of what was so awesome about this trip though, was that we were experiencing so many different sides of Costa Rica.  It really was great to get a sneak peak at so many things that great country has to offer.

The view from our rooms was gorgeous!

Everyone thought the long, skinny pool on the rooftop was pretty unique.  It was way too chilly and windy up there for a swim though.

That evening for dinner we walked a short way from our hotel to a little diner.  This was our first restaurant experience without our guide, and we did have some language barriers that caused some confusion with the order.  But in the end, everyone got food, and ice cream, and it all worked out just fine.

They all really loved the mural on the wall that looked like it had been colored there with Sharpie.

And then - a TV.  This was the first tech we had been around in many days.  The show was a weird soap opera looking show, completely in spanish, but they were hooked anyway.  What is it about technology that is so captivating?!  It was so nice the last few days without any of it - and nobody missed it!

Before bed, we admired again how beautiful the city looked from our hotel room.  Good night San Jose!

Thursday, Day 5 - San Jose to Tortuguero

This morning at breakfast we met Liana and her son Gabe, the other family would would be joining us for the remainder of the trip.  Also joining us was our driver, and Liz, our rafiki - or Kid's guide.  From here on out, we had a small bus and our crew of 11 now spent the remainder of the trip together.

Liz was amazing!  She came prepared with a whole bag full of activities, games, and things for the kids to do while driving.  She taught them to make bracelets and necklaces, and they plated several fun games of Headbandz (in spanish!).

Our journey today was taking us from San Jose, to the rainforest in Tortuguero.  Tortuguero National Park is a region of rainforest that is so remote it is only accessible by air or boat.  So our bus dropped us off here at this boat station in Cano Blanco, which is as close to Tortuguero as a vehicle can get. Then from here we went by boat through the canals for about an 1.5-2 hours before arriving in the small region of Tortuguero.  We spotted all kinds of birds and animals along our route, and had so much to watch along the way, it went by pretty quickly. 

The longer we drove, the more it began to rain.  Welcome to the rainforest!

And this is a view of the small village in Tortuguero.  One side of the river had the homes, school, and businesses.  Across on the other side was the hotels.  

We arrived at our small lodge named "Aninga" and it consisted of only 32 little mini cabins, all tucked away into the trees.  We were cabins 20 and 21.

Upon arrival, we quickly noticed a very large spider friend on our path.  He was about as long as a dollar bill. Yikes.

We were also given a traditional drink on our arrival that had lemon and ginger so the kids weren't too sure what to think of that flavor.  I thought it was very refreshing and delicious.

And here are our two cabins, across the path from one another.  It was lightly sprinkling at this point, and Bentley was enjoying a little dance during our free time.

We walked around the property to get a feel for where we would be spending the next few days.  It was so lush, green, and beautiful.  Obviously, being in the rain forest, they get a lot of water so there were plants growing on plant - just so much life.  The pool was in the shape of a turtle which was very unique and fun.

Here's a peek into the cabin.  The windows were only screens - no glass.  Fortunately, we were very protected from the bugs, but we were surrounded by the sounds of the rain forest.  It was so unique and beautiful.

After lunch we went by boat across the river and into the village. Sergio took us across the village first to see the Caribbean.  The kids wanted so badly to get in and play in the waves, but that was unfortunately not an option.  It was chilly outside, and this beach is off limits for swimmers because of the intense undertoes and currents.  We did learn though that this is a main beach for sea turtles to hatch.  We weren't there at the right time of year, but he taught us all about the process, and we imagined how amazing it must look when hundreds of baby turtles are making their way across these beaches.  Maybe next time we can time that just right.

Here is Liana and her son Gabe.  At this point we were still getting familiar with them a bit, but by the end of the trip we had learned so much about each other.  I really enjoyed meeting them and spending time with Liana.  She was a fascinating woman, and her story was so inspiring to me.

As we were out talking about turtles, the rain began and didn't quit for many, many, hours.  It's rainforest time!

We walked by their school house.  There were no windows, and we could see into their very simple classrooms.  The kids could see some of their work, and it was a really cool connection point for us all to imagine what it must be like to go to school in a place like this.  It was also a good reflection point about what my kids have and experience at school, and how we take a lot of things for granted.

We then walked down through their village, walked through some shops, and met some locals.  Sergio then offered to buy everyone ice cream, which the kids were excited about.

The puddles were pretty fun, and there was no use telling them not to splash, we were all already wet anyway!

Then we made it to our final stop "Casa Cecropia Chocolate Tour".  This was such a cool immersive experience to learn all about the process of making chocolate.  We learned all about where the cocoa beans come from and how important they were in the use as currency in pre-Columbian times.  This couple who taught us the course now owns the land which grows cocoa trees so we were able to learn and see the entire process.  

We were able to roast them and then we made a hot cocoa drink.  The kids had to add a lot of cane sugar, but still didn't think it was nearly as tasty as the hot chocolate drink they are used to.  

Then we peeled the skins and began to grind the beans into the paste we would use to make chocolate bars.

Everyone got a turn grinding some cocoa over this hot stone.

And then we added in vanilla and cane sugar until it tasted sweet.  Our chocolate bars were then poured onto banana leaves to cool.  The overall reaction to the chocolate was that the experience of making it was the highlight, not necessarily getting to eat it.  The overall consensus was that this chocolate was a little too bitter.  The experience was so much fun though, and we all gained a new appreciation for good, natural chocolate.

Then off we went to catch our boat back to the hotel.

That night after completing our travel journals, the kids had some extra time for some wrestle mania.  They were so cute to watch.  I love that they are friends.

Dinner at the hotel was delicious, and we were able to try many new things.

Karly took a little time to relax at the dinner table.  I love how the humidity made her curls so defined.  I couldn't get enough of her cuteness.

Then that night we spotted a few interesting tree frogs on our way back to our cabins.

We fell asleep that night listening to the rain and the sounds of the rain forest.  It was quite peaceful. Everyone was sleeping so solidly after our fun filled days!

Friday, Day 6 - Boating and Canoeing in Tortuguero, Christmas eve!

Christmas eve in the rainforest!  Today we had two different boating excursions and we were crossing our fingers for a little less rain than we had yesterday. Our canoeing tour was supposed to happen yesterday, but because the rain was so heavy, it got pushed to today.  So this morning's plan is a jungle boat expedition along the banks, and this afternoon would be a canoe into the jungle tunnels.   We were excited to see a lot more wildlife today, but we were praying the rain would subside a little!

Off we went on boat number one! So far, the rain was just a light drizzle.

We all decided that driving along these banks reminded us a little of the banks at the lake in Tennessee.  So much green!

We drove in close and saw lots of Caiman (small crocodiles), and some people on the boat got to see a river otter before it quickly got away.

We saw tons of different species of birds.

Some of the birds would stand out on the edge of the trees and hold their wings out wide to dry them.  We all had to do the same.

This boat tour lasted a couple hours so the kids were starting to get a bit stir crazy and seemed to lose interest in the creatures we were seeing.  We had to come up with some other creative games to keep them engaged.

But then we started seeing monkeys which were so fun to watch.  And fortunately the rain had not drown us out.

These pictures of Olive and Bentley make me laugh.  They were being so patient, but it was easy to see they were ready for this boat ride to end.

So as the drizzling rain came back, so did the thumb wars to keep the kids happy.

We got back to the hotel and had some free time before lunch.  The kids all opted to go swim.  We were continuously wet, so why not?!

They had the pool to themselves, but it was a bit chilly and they were all wishing for a hot tub.

Swimming in the rain forest, while it was raining! So fun!

On our way back to the cabins to get ready for lunch, we saw some armadillos.  The kids were so intrigued by these interesting creatures.

Then we came upon a momma monkey and her baby.  How cute that little face is!!

Sergio was there and had his good camera with him so he was able to capture some adorable close-ups.

We also came upon some other creepy spiders with the longest legs.

After lunch there was some sunshine and a break in the constant drizzle! Things were looking up for our afternoon canoe tour.

Our canoe guide was the man who taught us yesterday about cocoa.  So it felt like we already bonded, and he was excited to show us all the hidden inside channels of the river.

We saw more varieties of animals and birds on this excursion, and some beautiful trees and plants.  Lots of iguanas, all three species of monkeys, more caiman, and a turtle.  We were keeping our eyes peeled for another sloth, but no luck there.

The boats had motors but they were silent so as we travelled through the channels and under plant canopies, it was so calm and peaceful.

More thumb wars to keep from going crazy. At least they played quietly so they didn't disturb the peaceful environment.

Sergio got some great shots and shared all his beautiful pictures.

On our way back, the sun was starting to set and we could hear howler monkeys yelling back and forth to each other.  It was such an interesting and intimidating sound.  I couldn't believe how loud they could be!

It was so beautiful out there.  And we were so grateful that we managed this whole tour without any rain.

Then we had more wrestle mania before dinner.  They had lots of energy to get out.

Eden found a stick bug trying to get into our cabin.  Oh no you don't!  For as many bugs as they had there, it was a beautiful miracle that we never had any in our cabins.

We had a delicious, traditional Christmas eve dinner with turkey.

The kids were excited to see they also had a pasta bar.  They were so excited for those plain noodles.

Then off to bed we went, listening to the rain coming down on our roof and through the trees.

Saturday, Day 7 - CHRISTMAS! - Tortuguero to Sarapiqui

Merry Christmas from the rain forest!   This morning around 5am we woke to the sound of the howler monkeys.  They were crazy this morning, and loud!  It was a Christmas morning to remember!  The kids managed to sleep through a lot of it, but did hear it later in the morning when they came back again.

We all felt so excited and blessed to be experiencing this unique Christmas together.  And today we would leave the rain forest and start making our way towards the sunny "dry" side of the country.  We were all a little excited about that.  For a couple days now, everything was wet and we were ready to dry ourselves out a bit.

This morning we had some time before breakfast so we took a nice walk through the resort paths, seeing all we could see before we said goodbye.

Last night after dinner, Liz took the kids and drew on temporary tattoos, using vegetable ink from a local plant.  When she was drawing it on, it goes on completely invisible, but by morning their pictures had emerged.  They thought that was pretty fun.

Then we boarded our boat to take us back up the channels and away from Tortuguero and the creatures of the rain forest.  It was an incredible experience, unlike anything we have done before.  It was a Christmas to remember, but let's go get dry!

Next up - Sarapiqui!  We had about a two hour drive, with a lunch stop in between.  While on the bus, Liz taught the kids how to make dreamcatchers.  They were so excited for these.

And of course, there were also a few naps along the way.

We also made a stop at a banana plantation, and met a new friend who taught us about the farm her family started in order to earn some extra income.  We learned about their farm, and the traditional foods they would eat using the bananas.  In her outdoor kitchen, she made us some empanadas and banana tostadas with beans and cheese.  

We watched how she cooked using her outdoor kitchen, and wood burning stove. 

We learned more about the local plants and wildlife, and she made us a delicious warm maple drink.  This was Karly's favorite.

The food was so good.  Especially those fried tostadas, yum!

It was so unique to experience a little of her story, and eat the local food she makes for her family.  She had a beautiful story, and lived a very simple and fulfilling life.  I'm grateful we met her.

Then we arrived at our new hotel in Sarapiqui.  This hotel was very enchanting.  I think this one was the favorite stop for everyone.

They had beautiful garden pathways through the hotel grounds.  There was a river nearby, and a swamp area full of crocodiles.  It was small, and not very busy, but there was lots for the kids to enjoy.

This was our first hotel with two rooms that connected from the inside.  The kids stayed in one room, and Brad and I had the other.  Up until this point, we had one parent and two kids in each room at the previous hotels.  First thing to do upon getting settled in our rooms, was to hang up clothes to dry on all the chairs and balconies.  We needed to get a lot reset after our stay in the rainforest.

Then next up - pool time!  Once again, the kids had it all to themselves.  And once again, it rained on them while swimming. That was becoming the new normal and they were really having fun with it.

Bentley and I tried to play a game of pool, but this game gave us a unique challenge.  The table was a bit broken and falling in the center so every time we would hit balls, they would either go into a pocket, or roll back to the center.  We had fun trying to play, despite our balls being gathered in the center every time we hit.

They also had lots of other games to play while we hung out.

Liz finished tying up the dreamcatchers and brought them to the kids at dinner.  They were all very excited to find a place to hang them above their beds that night.

While waiting on dinner, the kids discovered this awesome library room, full of all kinds of interesting things.  They had lots of old school electronic players, old type writers, tons of good and unique books, and the walls were lined with framed insects.  We had to drag them out of here to eat dinner, and as soon as they were finished they went running back.  During our stay here, they wanted to spend all their free time in this room from.  

Then off we went to get a good night's sleep - minus the howler monkey alarm.

Sunday, Day 8 - Sarapiqui 

This morning the kids hurried to get ready so they could spend some time in the library before breakfast.  They all had gravitated towards certain books with maps, pictures, and interesting facts.  Karly and Olive began their awesome pretend play, using the books and machines as their game pieces.  It was cute to watch their creativity.

We also snuck in a quick morning walk, looking at all the beautiful plants.  Eden and I loved these tiny little vines that grew up all the tree trunks.  They had cute little leaves, that stood up straight.

We walked over a bridge and looked down into the crocodiles.

This vine canopy was so fun and whimsical.  The girls were inspired to play fairies under there.  There were so many beautiful, and vibrant plants to see.

We also spent some time in the music room, and Karly made a friend who was from Costa Rica, but spoke great English.  They hit it off right away and spent all their free time together from that point on.

Then we met up with our group for our activities for the day - zip lining and white water rafting!  We were all ready for some adventure again. Bentley and I were able to zip line on our trip to San Antonio, and Brad and I had done this before in Mexico.  But for the girls, this was their first time zip lining.  They were all a little nervous about being able to brake, but after repelling waterfalls, this didn't seem scary to them. 

For some of the course lines the girls weren't quite heavy enough, so we were able to ride together on many of them.  That was actually really fun to experience it together.  I loved hearing Karly say "weeeeeee!"

Bentley and Olive joined up for a line or two. T hey were cute to watch.  He said she squealed in his ear.

Eden loved it and had the cutest smile on her face the whole time.

Brad and Olive also went together on a few.  These two were funny to watch (and listen to!).

We zipped over the beautiful forest, and a gorgeous river.  We saw some colorful toucans and parrots in the trees.

We had a big scare with some bullet ants on one of the platforms.  Eden had one on her neck, Brad had one on his leg, but fortunately nobody got bit and we were able to fend them off while we hurried through that platform and onto the next line. Those things were huge and they had warned us about how terribly painful their bites were, so we were a bit anxious to get away from them quickly.

Overall it was an incredible experience.  The kids loved it, and we loved being able to experience it together.  The views were amazing, and the guides were so much fun.  And nobody was bit by any creatures -win, win!

Next up, our guides took us to get lunch and then on to our river rafting tour.  This was a first time experience for our family, and we were a little nervous, but it ended up being such a fun adventure!

We went over the drills, and how to hold on with your feet, when to paddle, and when to lean in.  Karly could barely reach the foot straps so she was pretty nervous, but we assured her that she could just slip down into the boat at any point.

Before leaving the starting point, there was an opportunity for a little cliff jumping into the river.  Brad and Olive were all over that idea.  They were so cute to watch.

Then off we went down the river!  There were some good drops and twists in the course, and we were having a blast!  It was so fun to hear the laughter and squeals of the kids behind us. We had two kayaks riding along in front of us - one was the photographer, and one was to catch any stray bodies that may fall out of the boat.  Fortunately, we didn't need that second helper.  Our photographer got some great shots.  I love all the different expressions of pure joy and excitement.

Karly definitely had some parts that really scared her, and she had a few tears after one particular drop, but she did so good and ended up having an overall great experience.  We would have some intense moments, and then it would smooth out and we could get a hug in, and then we would go again.  Once she realized she could forget worrying about her paddle and helping us in any way, and just enjoy the ride, she had a lot more fun. She did so great.

The other three couldn't get enough and wanted more rapids.  After any crazy parts, once the water smoothed out again, our guide would have us all raise our paddles to the center of the boat and yell "Pura Vida!"  The kids loved it, and we really had so much fun together.

A few points along the way, when the water would slow, everyone could jump out for a little swim.  Karly got a ride on the back of the kayak with one of our guides.  We learned that he was an Olympian and had represented Costa Rica in canoeing in the Olympics several years ago.  That was the first Olympian we have ever met, and Karly got to ride with him. So cool!

Then just as we were about to finish our tour, we noticed a sloth in the tree right on the bank.  We quickly pulled our boats to shore, got out and watched him for a while as he climbed down the tree.  Despite how it looks in this picture, we were actually able to get very up close to him as he was coming down. We didn't have our phones on us, so we weren't able to get any pictures or videos, but we were so close. It was so funny to watch how slowly he moved, and we could really see all the details of his face and hands.  We were able to stay about 15 minutes, and in all that time he only made it halfway down the tree, before he stopped for a little nap.  We had to get back into the boats and finish our tour, but it was so cool to see one so close.  We loved those interesting and unique creatures!

That night we relaxed at the hotel.  Liz painted the girls nails, and we worked on some other bracelets and necklaces.  And of course, there was lots of time in the library that we later named "the Indiana Jones room".

As we were finishing our journals and getting ready for dinner, Karly fell asleep.  She was worn out from the day of adventures!  

We had such an amazing day.  We were really loving our time here in Sarapiqui.  Karly's favorite part was that she met a new friend that she could play with.  Tonight was our last night at this cool place and we all agreed that we could have stayed another day here.  We all got amazing sleep that night.

Monday, Day 9 - Sarapiqui to Puntarenas

Today we said goodbye to Sarapiqui and began our journey to the last destination of Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  Our drive overall was around 3 hours, but we had some fun adventures planned along the way.  Our first stop was a local restaurant which had an amazing view into a canyon with a huge waterfall.  It was gorgeous.  They also had a big platform for feeding birds and we saw some new, beautiful varieties, including purple hummingbirds.  

On the bus ride, Liz had the kids doing some brain teasers where they would draw out clues, and then the others had to guess what it meant.  This one is one Karly did - "soup + R + man: Superman".  Well done Karly!  They had a lot of fun with these, and we all had some good laughs with some of the things they came up with.

As we were passing through a little village, Sergio pulled over and bought us a box of fresh mountain strawberries.  These were the first berries we had all trip - they were delicious!  

Then our next stop was Corso Lecheria Farm. The plan for this stop was for some to go on a coffee tour, and our family was going to go on a bicycle tour.  They weren't really looking forward to this, but we thought a bike ride sounded more interesting than a coffee tour.  Upon arrival we quickly realized that plan would not work because they only had full size bikes.  Sergio quickly got to work figuring out another plan for us because he knew the bike riding wasn't an option, and the coffee tour was not really of interest to us.  Turns out it all worked out for the best anyway because we ended up getting passes to an awesome ropes course.  The kids were so excited, especially Bentley.  

We got all geared up and away we went!  At this point I was not surprised at all that the kids were facing all adventures head on.  There were no nerves about this, at least not right away.

Bentley went first, and he took off like a spider monkey.  The guide had to stop him at a couple platforms so he didn't get too far ahead.  He was totally in his element with this stuff.

Then Olive followed and did her best to keep up with Bentley.  She was a little slower on some, but she was determined to not let him get too far ahead of her.  Eden followed Olive and was a little more meticulous in her movements, but she was solid as a rock up there.

Dad followed behind Eden and got great pleasure in keeping up with those three. I could hear them squawking and squealing up ahead and knew which stretches were the harder ones based on all the noise.   After Eden, was Karly and our guide.  Thank goodness for him!  He helped her a ton when she wasn't quite tall enough to reach some of the stabilizing ropes, and stepping stones.  She was pretty shaky on some of the balancing ropes, but she trusted him and did exactly as he instructed her.  It was cute to watch.  I followed behind, and then Liz behind me.

Sergio came and cheered us on from below.  He also got some great shots, and had a lot of fun teasing Brad and I for being much slower than all our kids.

It was really beautiful looking down over all the coffee plants on the farm.

This bridge stretch was really tricky.  They were so loose as they would swing back and forth, it was a good core workout for sure!

Bentley literally ran across these platform bridges.  The faster the better for him!  The rest of us had to be a little more careful with our balance.

I love watching my kids do new and challenging things!

This was yet another good trust exercise - learning to trust your harness to catch you if you slip.

Once we reached the final platform, there was a small zipline down to the ground.  This was a fun way to end the experience, though I think many of the kids would have gone around again if given the choice!

We did it!  Our first family ropes course!

After the ropes course we had lunch at the restaurant on the farm.  They had delicious and refreshing fruit juice.  After lunch we walked around a bit, looked at the beautiful plants, checked out the giftshop, and Bentley and I even ran a few laps to get some more movement in before getting back on the bus.

This rainbow tree had the most colorful and beautiful bark.  I've never seen such a thing. 

Karly and Olive got some cute new sloth friends in the gift shop.  Karly's sloth "Jewel" was the perfect pillow for her bus nap as we completed the drive.

Then we arrived at our final destination - an all-inclusive resort on the beach in Puntarenas.  We got checked in and the kids were dying to get out to the beach so off we went as quickly as possible.

The view from our balcony was beautiful!  They couldn't wait to get out there.

Down at the beach, there were several locals with their nets doing their evening crabbing.  Eden ended up catching one who was trying to get away.  She loves catching crabs and has become very good at it.

It was a beautiful and peaceful night as I sat and watched the sunset, and the kids playing.  This was the perfect way to finish the day.

They were all so happy to be back on a beach, jumping in endless waves, and digging in the sand.

Karly made an adorable little "sandman".

I couldn't get enough of the beautiful sunset. Pictures never quite catch the full beauty.

I could only pull them from the waves and sand long enough to get a couple shots, but I worked quickly and got some great shots.

And then they just played away until the sun was gone for the night.

After getting cleaned up, we went to dinner and then to check out the show in the theater area.  Unfortunately, the show was completely in Spanish so we had fun for a while, bouncing to the beat, but then we quickly lost interest as we had no idea what was happening.  

That night Karly and Olive had their sloth buddies to snuggle with.  They were so cute.

Tuesday, Day 10 -  Puntarenas

Today was our last adventure day of the trip.  We were excited for our half day ocean expedition on an outrigger canoe.  

The kids called it "the Moana boat" and we sang "How Far I'll go" as we paddled out to sea.  It was beautiful! 

We paddled along the coastline to a secluded beach that was only accessible by boat.  We got to spend several hours at this beach, and it was the perfect way to spend our morning.

We played in the sand and waves for a while, and then our guides pulled out the snorkel gear for anyone who wanted to swim out and see what was under the sea!

Our guides cut up some delicious fresh fruit for us to snack on.  I still am amazing at how perfectly they cut that.

Then back towards the tree line, the kids found tiny little hermit crabs, and this became the highlight of the remaining time on the beach. They built them "homes" and tried to contain them in their tunnels.

Bentley got put in charge of babysitting duty while the girls were finding more crabs.  He worked fast keeping them all in the circle.  He couldn't let up for even a moment or someone would escape! These were the smallest little hermit crabs we have ever seen.  They were so cute, but very fast!

The guides all thought the kids were very entertaining and ended up hanging out and visiting with the kids.  I spent  a lot of time on this beach visiting with Liana, the other mom in our tour group.  She grew up in Romania and as a late teenager, taught herself English by reading American medical books and the dictionary.  They she got into medical school and became a doctor so she could come to America.  She had a fascinating story, and such interesting perspective about raising her son in America and how different it was form her own childhood.  I learned so much from her, and her drive and ambition was inspiring.

Liz turned Olive into a beautiful mermaid.

But then the time came for us to paddle back to our starting point.  The kids were very sad to leave their crab family.  They could have spent the entire day here. On our way back to the resort though, we stopped along the shore to get churchill treats.  Turns out the one I had at the beginning of the trip was a very basic churchill.  These were like an explosion of rich calories with shaved ice, Kola syrup, powdered milk, condensed milk, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and a topping of choice. Wow - so much sugar even the kids couldn't finish them.

By this point in the trip, we had gotten to know Liana and Gabe very well and really enjoyed spending our time together.  He was 14, but being with my younger kids really brought out the adventurous spirit in him and he enjoyed being one of the kids.

Then upon our return to the resort, it was back to the beach we went!  We can never get enough.  And I was happy to go back and relax, watch them play, and take in another gorgeous sunset.

Karly found this sea snail which she had fun playing with for the next couple hours.

She isn't as much a fan of the waves like her siblings, so she would find many other imaginative ways to spend her time in the sand.

Then as the sun was beginning to set, out came the sand piper birds.  I adore these tiny creatures.  I loved watching them run so fast their tiny legs become a blur.

As Eden, Olive and Gabe continued to jump waves for hours, Bentley and Karly began digging holes and playing together on the beach.

We all had a good laugh when Eden would emerge from the waves.  Her hair was a sign that she was really being thrown around out there.

I love that Bentley somehow had sand on the tip of his nose as if he dipped it so carefully into a sand hill.

There's just something so grounding about spending quiet time watching the ocean.  And add in a beautiful sunset, and it's actually quite spiritual for me.  It was a time of reflection, and I couldn't help but feel so blessed to have had this incredible experience with the people I love so dearly.

We enjoyed dinner at the steakhouse that night.  These kids were exhausted after another full and wonderful day.

Then off to sleep we went, with Lucy and Jewel.

Wednesday, Day 11 - Puntarenas, Resort Day

Day 11, our final day in Costa Rica!  Today was our first, completely free day, and we were excited to spend it here at the resort.  We started with a few games of putt-putt after breakfast.  Good thing we went early because it was already starting to get really hot by the time we were done.  We were all anxious to get out to the water.

Back to jumping waves they went!  This was our first time seeing a beach with black sand.  It was beautiful to look at, but it sure was toasty in the sun!

The only thing on the schedule for today was our COVID tests in the late afternoon.  Unfortunately, if we wanted to go home, we couldn't escape that "adventure".  We spent the morning at the beach, and then after lunch we played in the pools at the resort.  Karly hunted Iguanas and had fun taking pictures of them.  In the pool, I saw Karly walking by other little girls and waving, but eventually she came to me, really sad, and said, "I just want to find one friend who speaks English!"  Unfortunately, that was not to be found at this resort that we learned is popular among Costa Ricans, most of which only spoke Spanish.  

Bentley made an iguana friend.  He got a kick out of touching their tails anytime he saw one.  

This time he was sneaking up behind this iguana to touch it's tail, and it surprised us all by running out into the water on it's hind legs! It was so crazy looking!  I had no idea iguanas could swim so well.  We laughed as he continued to follow it through the pool and out onto a planter "island" where it climbed a tree to hide from him.  Fortunately we got this on video and had to rewatch that crazy thing run on water for a bit.

Nachos by the pool for the win!

We got our covid tests done, and then headed back to the beach to watch our final sunset, and jump through our final waves.

Eden and her hair!  So funny (until we had to try to brush through it of course).

We couldn't resist getting some silhouette pictures.  It was the perfect night.

We were all soaking in our final time in Costa Rica.  It had been a rich and full adventure!

That night at dinner, Olive fell asleep while waiting for her pasta.  That's how you know it was a good day.

Air hug from Liz!

We were all sun kissed and exhausted!

Dinner was late that night so we were all very anxious to crawl into bed as soon as we got back to our rooms.  Goodnight Costa Rica!

Thursday, Day 12 - Travel Home!

Then bright and early the next morning, we were awake and checking out.  The atmosphere of the resort was a little chaotic, so we found a lot of peace out on the beach.  We were sad to say goodbye to that part of the resort.  But we were all ready to get back home.

We arrived at the airport around 10am.  It was a sweet goodbye to Sergio and Liz, who we had really bonded with over the past week and a half.  We learned a lot about them and their lives in Costa Rica.  They made this experience so much richer with all the many things they taught us.  We even celebrated Christmas and a birthday with Sergio so he really felt like family at this point!

Liana and Gabe's flight was around 12:30 which is why we had to arrive at the airport when we did.  Unfortunately, our flight wasn't until after 4pm so we had a very long day at the airport ahead.  We walked from corner to corner of this place, seeing everything there was to see.  We spent a lot of time in each of the giftshops.  We ate lunch, we watched a soccer game, we read, we walked some more, they played iPads, we got ice cream..... it was a lot of time.  They did so good with it though, and everyone just accepted it as part of the "adventure".   This helped everyone else be really ready to get home too, not just me. 

We finally landed in Dallas around 8:30.  We got through customs and then went on the hunt for some dinner.  However, we discovered that every food place in the airport closed at 9 and by the time we got through, it was 9:15.  Sadly, we ate dinner out of the vending machine that night.  It will just be another memory down the line of the adventures of the trip.

We landed in Albuquerque around 11:45 that night.  Everyone was so incredibly happy to crawl into their own beds that night.  But first, a few needed a bowl of cereal to finish off that vending machine dinner.

We came crawling over the finish line of that trip, but it was absolutely incredible.  I can't imagine a more adventurous, immersive, and cultural experience.   I saw the kids do amazing and brave things, and take on new challenges head on.  I saw us all grow in confidence, and in our  knowledge of the beautiful culture of Costa Rica.  We all gained a richer and deeper perspective of this beautiful world and all it has to offer, and we gained many new friends along the way.  We truly felt alive here, and our family bonded in such an incredible way.  This will be a trip I will forever cherish for our family.  I feel so blessed to have had this experience together.  I love my people, I love exploring with them, and we all love Costa Rica! Until next time - PURA VIDA!

Karly and Olive

 Karly and Olive - talk about double the trouble, but double the fun!  You never know what you might get with these two, but when they are in sync, it's magical, and they disappear into some pretty fun and  creative worlds.

Someone got a hickie...

 Good thing she grabbed a granola bar instead of finishing off her arm!!