Phil and I have a rule that when our children ask us to do something with them, we agree to do it if at all possible. They grow up so fast and it won’t be long before they aren’t asking us any more.
So when Hanna asked me to go along on her class trip to Costa Rica, there was nothing hard about that decision; I was in! Fast forward eight years, and Laura also asked me to go on her class trip. While I would have preferred to go somewhere new, say Australia or New Zealand, heading back to Costa Rica was no great hardship.
Much of the second trip was familiar, but there were plenty of new experiences as well. In 2006 we flew into San Jose; in 2014 we arrived at Liberia. We spent a lot more time on the bus in 2006, and two other groups joined our Helias group. This time Helias had a group large enough for our own bus (by far more preferable).
We used different tour groups: Expedia in 2006 and Edutrips in 2014. Interestingly enough, the 2014 trip was less expensive. We had great tour guides and bus drivers each time.
Both trips were adventure tours, but the more recent trip had an eco-educational component. For instance, we visited a coffee plantation in 2006, while the 2014 tour was at a sustainable family farm.
Both years we went on a horseback ride . . .
and ziplined . . .
went whitewater rafting . . .
visited La Fortuna Falls . . .
and ate lots of rice and black beans.
This year we went snorkeling, which we did not do in 2006. That time we went canoeing in Lake Arenal instead.
One final observation for this post is that many of the activities were more difficult this trip – and not just because I am eight years older. The rafting was more challenging, we took the hard way to La Fortuna Falls, the ziplining course was stepped up a notch (or maybe two) and the horses actually broke into a run instead of maintaining a sedate single file.
In two years it will be Phil’s turn to accompany Joseph on a trip, but I doubt to Costa Rica. I think the current plan is Germany.
More to come . . .
