Where can you get the best guanabana, jungle ziplines, hummingbirds that perch on your finger, and no plastic straws? Costa Rica!! Our first ever trip to Central America was a highlight of a lifetime. With the Tobey Nottinghams, we started in Panama, where the dads got educated via daily lectures at a plush all-inclusive Panama hotel. It was beautiful infinity pools, gorging on fresh smoothies and massive buffets, sea kayaking in the ocean (and Mom and Terren did some ocean clean up along the way), dancing to latin rhythms, pool volleyball, human size chess, and dancing/shows/movies. Terren practiced daily on the lobby grand piano conjuring many thanks from the hotel staff as well as fellow tourists. We ventured into Panama to view and learn about the Canal, as well as the Old City. But for sure one of the best highlights was afternoon beach soccer and volleyball, pulling in a United Nations of guests and staff of all ages in some solid competition. Only downside was that the sandflies also enjoyed sunset beach games. Those are some of the itchiest and long-lasting bites we have ever experienced. Fortunately, no leishmaniasis.
Costa Rica, though, stole the show. In 3 days, we sampled a firehose of Monteverde cloud forest goodness. Night hikes, ziplines, jungle rope bridges, butterflies, chocolate and coffee plantation tours, all while staying at an amazing rental in a converted barn overlooking a beautiful valley. Who knew that scorpions glow in black light? The “superman”-style zipline just over the treetops was as close to being a bird as mom and dad will ever get. It was tranquility in its purest form. Fascinating that the most stable country in this region is also the country without a military and maintains an economy that is solidly based around eco-tourism and environmental protection. In every restaurant, even the sodas (family-owned, hole-in-the-wall country), there were no plastic straws. The trip finale was 2 days of hot springs with twisting steep water slides that would never legally exist in the US, and the girls' first horseback ride which we did on the sides of the Arenal volcano. Ridiculously amazing.
Thanks again to Dad’s "continuing medical education” funding for subsidizing the continuing global education of our family.
