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I have been fascinated by travel since I was a child. So, when I became an adult, I decided to make my dream of seeing the world actually happen. By saving, planning, and not being afraid to sleep in some pretty strange places, I was able to see a lot of North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa before I had my children. In fact, I went to China to adopt my first daughter, which will always be one of the great journeys of my life. In the 13 years since I became a mom, I have kept on going... toting strollers, diapers and baby food on international flights, and learning just how far I can walk with a kid on my back (turns out it is longer than I thought but sometimes not long enough!)  In fact, when we got back from Spain a few years ago, a lot of people said, "Isn't the nightlife great in Barcelona??" I said, "I have no idea, but the playgrounds are awesome!" The way I travel has changed in many ways, but seeing the word through my children's eyes has only made it better. 

We just got back from 12 days in Costa Rica. It has been on my wish list for a while, but I wanted my youngest daughter to be old enough to do some hiking and other activities that have a minimum age limit, like zip lining. As soon as she turned six, I started planning. Our first stop was Manuel Antonio, known for its beaches and a beautiful national park. Here we zip lined, took surfing lessons, swam, and marveled at the extraordinary amount of animal life. Every day, we saw countless monkeys and a sloth who liked to hang out in a tree by our front door.

Check out the crocodiles below us! They are about 15 feet long! 

My oldest daughter zip lining

Me on the zip line. We rode ten lines, one was a mile long. So much fun!

This swimming hole was so fun and the water is WARM!! After her dad jumped, my youngest daughter insisted on going next. My older daughter and I were scared, but after we saw her do it, we knew we would never live it down if we didn't also jump. Once was enough for me, but they did it over and over.

After enjoying Manuel Antonio for five days, we drove 3 1 2/ hours south to the Osa Peninsula. We dropped off our rental car in a town called Puerto Jimenez and then got a ride 45 minutes into the rainforest to Bosque Del Cabo. I can now say I have experienced paradise! The combination of the rainforest, great food, and beautiful ocean views made us never want to leave! We learned so much about the animals and plants. There was a big mango tree outside of our bungalow and every day we would watch monkeys take a few bites of mango and then throw them onto the ground, creating a very loud "BOOM". You can't imagine the number of other animals that stay under that tree, waiting for the monkeys' leftovers. 

Waterfall repelling turned out to be one of the highlights. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought and we all did it, even our six-year-old. That little person up at the top is me!

My oldest daughter going down!

A steep hike after cooling off in a waterfall

My daughters took several surf lessons. My husband was surfing in this area and a giant sea turtle came up for air right beside him. He said it was the highlight of the trip for him. 

My husband took this picture of the Milky Way. No light pollution makes this a great place for photographers.

Walking along the tide pools in the Pacific

My daughters looking at live sand dollars. This might be my favorite picture from the trip.

Now that we are back from Costa Rica, I'm plotting our next adventure. Any Recommendations? 

Safe travels,

Sandra

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