I truly believe the greatest way to educate your children on the world around them is to just go out and experience it. Whether it's your back door or across the ocean, children will rise to the challenges of travel. What better snippet of life than to be prepared as you can be for an adventure but still be surprised with things you never saw coming and to do it with those you love is just icing on the cake. My tiplets carry the sad mark of being the oldest in our family (except for my dear hubby)to take their first flight. Where the rest of them started at just a few months old, the triplets will be four. Don't panic, I feel they will make up for their shortcomings with enough time. Just look at Beau proudly sporting her American made stamp of approval.
For those who don't know me, I'm a planner. I grew up traveling in a home with no planners and vacations were something near boot camp at Ft. Something or Other- no hotel reservations, no car reservations, no tickets or agendas for the day. If we needed to check for hotel availability it consisted of the family car driving up to the hotel, my getting out and going to the desk clerk in any given langauage to ask for a room. This would happen about a dozen times before my parents agreed on a price then we would drive to the lucky hotel. And maps, what were those? But don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful for the ability to have traveled young. I learned a lot and I hope my kids are well on their way to enjoying the adventure of life as much as I do. And special thanks to my darling husband who has so selflessly stepped out of his comfort zone for me time and time again to have some of the funnest times a girl could ask for.
Ready to fly!
On our last trip to Costa Rica we just had the older two so we travelled the entirety of the country which was amazing. With the expanded crew, I thought it best to stay in one spot and really get to know it. The choice was simple. We would go to Manuel Antonio and stay at La Mariposa. In a book I have called "A Thousand Places to See Before You Die," this hotel is listed and I have no reason to disagree. The staff, as they were the last visit, were exceptional and personable. We packed up our belongings (and our M.I.L) and headed on one of two flights to get to Central America.
The Itinerary went as follows:
Day 1: Land in San Jose and spend the night.
Day 2: Take a dip in the pool followed by a short flight on Nature Air to Quepos Airport.
In thirty minutes you will traverse the mountains to the coast with the most amazing views. I said the plane was so small that when the pilot sneezed I handed him a tissue. The flight in the matchbox is all worth it when we arrived at the hotel.
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| The view all day, every day |
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| Never got old |
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| A man and his women |
The day was spent mostly getting re acquainted with the pool and relaxing in our apartment. It wasn't long before we were greeted by one of the many hundred friends that one tends to meet in the jungle. Every day monkeys, our personal chicken nugget eating iguana and R.U.S (Rodents of Unusual Size- Princess Bride anyone)were literally in our faces.
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| So many babies I could have died. |
This guy was such a ham, he would lay there and swing his tail and look cute. The trips tried ( and I think successfully captured) to be as cute as him.
Day 3: Zip lining
This is always my favorite here. These guides are amazing. They do these trips 2-3 times a day but are as pleasant and funny the first time as the last. The triplets were such gamers, they even went in a triplet tandem down the 1 mile zip. The guides were eating them up. Eva and I even went upside down on a few of the 14 zip lines. (I couldn't let her out do her mom)
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| All the guides were enamored with Beau. I can't see why |
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| Mike and I raced but as you can see, he won the mile long zip |
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| On lowering me at the end, the guides told me to jump and immediately after I did, they screamed "No". I'm laughing at their little joke here but my pants are a little wet from the fright their little joke gave me. |
When we were done zipping (if that's a thing)we were seated again, in the middle of nowhere with a makeshift stove and treated to a typical Costa Rican lunch of vegetables, chicken and rice. I always ask the ladies for their recipes because if they can make it taste this good in the jungle imagine what it could taste like at home. (Their's is probably better. Your right.) Again, a group of monkeys and a sloth came by to visit while we sat amongst them reliving our adventures.
As soon as we arrived back to the hotel we do our usual afternoon activity of heading poolside.
Even from our last trip here, the poolside bar is always the highlight for my kids. The fact that they ate here every day was a testament to the food. And there is something quite fancy about having Ernesto see me and nod to let me know he will order my usual. No words needed.
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| Did I mention how much I love this man
other amazing restaurants a walk away. The hotel restaurant serves our breakfast every day and the typical CR breakfast of gallo pinto, plantains and eggs with Lisano sauce is Mike's all time favorite. (Yes, I had the chef teach me. I got to keep this man happy)
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Can you beat the view at the restaurant. Yes, most every other hotel has an amazing view of Manuel Antonio.
But the breakfast included with our stay with the view couldn't be beat.
Day 4: Horse back riding with Don Juan to the waterfall.
I don't have enough pictures to show but the ride stops at a private waterfall where we took a dip and a snack before heading back for another typical CR lunch at the ranch. Gigi screamed bloody murder at first but by the end was happy to ride with Don Juan himself. And props to the MIL for showing of her equestrian skills.
Day 5: The beach at Manuel Antonio
I have been accused of over scheduling so I purposely kept this trip light. So a day at the beach with boogie boarding, body surfing, sandcastle making was just what we needed. I can not stress enough the need to wear and reapply your sunscreen. We are avid sun worshippers but this place is on the equator. Never too much sun screen.
This picture of Eva and her siblings has to be one of my favorites. In the distance you see one of the twin islands.We had coconut juice out of the coconut, at popsicles hand delivered by the several beach vendors and caught a thousand sand dollars.
This was Nico's idea of playing in the waves. He liked to do it from a very, very safe distance but felt just as excited when he would "escape" them. We went off near the park area to a little lagoon area where a bunch of kids were swimming. My kids soon joined them as I took a look around and photographed the view. A little sign caught my eye that said, "Be aware, there may be crocodiles swimming here." "Oh kids, let's get out of the water now. I think I hear your father calling." (Insert nervous laugh.)
Day 6: Private boat tour snorkeling and dolphin watching
With a family as big as ours, there was no need to think this through. We chose a private boat charter with Safari Adventures. Our captain was a retired commercial fisherman and taught us how to call fish no matter where you are and how to dolphin whisper to get them to play with you. I left pretty impressed with his skills. The triplets snorkeled (Nico just hung on me but had a good time)
We were treated to fruit and cookies and of course a lunch afterwards.
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| Nico has got his stare down |
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| The ever elusive photo taker even made an appearance here. |
We didn't see a lot of dolphins. We saw A LOT of dolphins. And they were so close. The captain had them chasing us. Pretty amazing. I think this was probably the family's favorite activity, the whole boat trip day. Relaxing enough for the trips to lie on the floor and nap while the wind blowed on them and exciting enough to make them that tired to want to nap on the floor of a boat.I am an ocean baby. For me it was a no brainer that this was going to be the best day.
Day 7: Easter Sunday
We thought we would head over to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for sacrament. I was humbled by this to my core. The church was small but impeccably clean, the people were dressed in their Sunday best with the men in full suits in ninety degree weather. The people there were not wealthy but the were rich in the knowledge of the great privilege and responsibility it is to be a priesthood holder and of the importance of being reverent during a sacrament meeting. Not a single child moved from their seat during sacrament or made a single sound. I was dumbfounded. The bishop asked Mike to give the opening prayer which he gladly did in Spanish. Way to go Elder Harris!
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| The church in Quepos |
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| The baptismal font
What is Easter without an Easter egg hunt? When making reservations I asked the front desk clerk if there would be any special activities for Easter like an egg hunt. There was a long pause then he said, "Señora, we have many different eggs; scrambled, poached, fried. Which would you need me to hide?" That is when I knew I would be making a special bag for the trip filled with USA goodies. What I didn't expect was the genuine curiosity from the staff and other guests,not from the US. When I hid the eggs I was standing their among the palms as families would pass by and stop to gaze at the bright little eggs. "What is it?" "I don't know let's pick it up. Maybe the hotel put them here for us." The staff, including Ernesto peaked out over the balcony to watch as my kids, the seasoned egg hunters, went to town collecting the goods. We had no choice but to give some of the eggs to the staff who were so kind to us.
   
I don't know if we will ever be able to celebrate Easter in anywhere more exotic than here. We were dressed in our pool best for the occasion. Beau was particularly fond of the Haribo Easter bunnies I had found.
Day 8: Flight from Quepos to San Jose and Flight from San Jose to Atlanta then Flight from Atlanta to PNS
Did I mention how small the Quepos airport is? This is the waiting area for the flights.
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The view on arrival to San Jose.
I just love this country. I don't know if its the people or the ability it has to make us slow down and enjoy the Pura Vida but we are hooked and will surely return again. I've already got my next itinerary in mind. (Did I mention I was a planner?)
The trips were totally into their heritage. Here are Don Romeo and Doña Adriana
Pura Vida indeed with this crew.
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