Verdad! Estamos en Costa Rica! Say what? I woke up on day 2 in Costa Rica to the sunrise out my window, the birds singing, and the waves rolling. I missed my kids. Yes, the kids are at home and Papi and I went away. We have done our weekend getaways…but we have never left for a week….To a foreign country. And truthfully we wavered back and forth about if we could do it. Ultimately, we decided we could. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. We took time off work. We missed the last regular season wrestling meet of the year. We left our beloved dog. And yes, we left our kids.
I’ve never packed for a beach resort but it can’t be that hard…right? I put off packing until the very last minute (mistake #1) mistake #2 actually occurred last fall when we winterized the camper…with my beach bag, preferred bathing suits, beach cover up, and every drop of sunscreen we own locked inside. Thankfully Target had me and I was able to buy a new bathing suit. In February. In Michigan.
The extent of my prepacking planning entailed the ongoing discussion about if we were going to check bags. Don hates to check bags. Admittedly we have had a few snags in the past with the checking bags situation…but I am an optimist who loves shoes….so really…is it even a question? I also have the issue of hair products etc. that can’t go in carry on. And still Don didn’t want to check. So I agreed that if we weren’t going to check bags, that he could pack my shoes. We checked.
I was really hoping for a snow day the day before departure, because the fact that I had not only not preplanned packing, but also had not evaluated the laundry situation and this had me seriously stressed out. I also did not have the opportunity to research ‘packing for a resort’ (mistake #3) which would have probably led to me bringing clips to secure my beach towel to my pool lounge, my hat, and my large yeti tumbler. Needless to say, no snow day for me so I had to scramble after work to get packed. I hastily pulled out the shorts, tank tops, workout wear, toiletries and shoes and stuffed them in my bags. Guess who ended up packing Don’s extra shoes…yep. And it won’t be forgotten. Anytime. Ever.
Then comes the big stressor: what to wear to the airport when you are departing in a snow storm and arriving in paradise. We both initially decided to go with summer attire since the airport and plane is climate controlled. Upon waking up, we chickened out and both bundled like Michiganders. We are geniuses though and put a change of beach wear into our carry on to change in the plane. Apparently, we were surrounded by geniuses on the plane, because everyone else had the same idea, and I missed my window of opportunity to change. I landed in paradise wearing black joggers and long sleeves.
Day one was an adventure before the adventure even started. We left home at 2 am to make our 5:45 flight out of Detroit. We didn’t make it to the highway before Madison announced that she forgot her ID for her her flight to Arizona. Back we go. Then once again, before we even hit the highway, we got pulled over for a headlight issue. Our low beams burnt out and we were running on fog lights. Testament to how blind I am that I didn’t notice that one. By this time we were going to be seriously late, but the officer took pity on us and let us go. And away we went into the wee hours of the morning in a snowstorm with fog lights and brights. It was a white knuckle, butt clenching ride to Detroit…but we made it.
We arrived in Costa Rica after delayed flights, made it through customs, changed out of joggers and into a dress, and felt much better. The hotel sent a bus for us complete with beer and cold water. We traveled through the pueblitos and mountains and got an amazing history lesson that I seriously wish I had recorded. Fun fact: there are two ways to harvest sugar cane, by hand and by machine. Machine harvested sugar cane is not considered organic even if it is grown organically and I will never eat sugar that is not organic again. Jake, if you are reading this, throw away all the sugar. All of it. Machine harvested sugar also harvests bunnies, birds, snakes, and rodents which all get processed along with the cane. Hand cut sugar is the only sugar that doesn’t contain animals. And all those vegans and vegetarians eating sugar….I do have to chuckle a little on that one.
Day 2 we woke up to an amazing sunrise, the birds calling and an amazing breakfast. We had fried plantains, tamales and the best fresh fruit I have had since childhood. They also had a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar. I abstained because those of you that know me know after two beverages I am wasted. (Note to self…build tolerance to alcohol before going on the next all inclusive) I did enjoy virgin cranberry mojitos poolside all day long. I also had a freshly squeezed apple, celery and ginger juice that was to die for. Beaches, beverages and people watching made for a great day. The variety of people we watched….the 80 year old grandma rocking her bikini (#goals), the girl who needs to go on botched because her lip injections went bad, and thongs are in. And the girls who didn’t know thongs were in winged it and had their entire bikini bottom stuffed up their bottom. Yeah….uncomfortable. The body positivity movement is definitely in full swing in Costa Rica….which meant I felt ok in my 15 pounds heavier than I’m comfortable with body.
The next two days we did different excursions. One by boat to Diamanté animal sanctuary and zip line tour. We Superman zip lined across and little canyon laying down. We saw some animals. And we waited in lines. A lot. Many, many lines. On this particular tour group, there was an older lady who made it a big point of being loudly scared and nervous about everything from the shuttle ride up the mountain to the actual zip line experience. In every line, she loudly made it a point of bemoaning all the scary adventures she (voluntarily I assume) signed up and paid for. So…like all good sports after waiting in long lines while listening the the ever present complaining, Don and I decided to jump on the the little rope bridge bridge spanning over the alligator enclosure just as she got to the middle. Just for funsies. She shrieked like a banshee. We laughed. The boat ride there and back was the highlight of the day though. We saw the manta rays jumping out of the water, and the sunset from the water was amazing.
The next day our tour by van to the volcano base was amazing all the way around. We rode horses up the mountain and zip lined down on a bunch of different lines, with minimal harnessing and a fancy glove with a brake pad to control our own speed. So fun. When we got to the bottom, we went down a natural water slide. Now on the way up the mountain, the tour guide was laughing about the women wearing diapers on the slide, and I blew it off because I thought something must have gotten lost in translation. Well, upon arrival at the slides, they put helmets on our heads, and these ugly as sin, uncomfortable black rubber diapers on our bottoms. I seriously DID NOT want to wear them. But I am seriously glad I did. The slide was a natural slide and between the high pressure water and the bumps along the way, the diaper kept my bikini bottoms on, and my butt from bruising. The slide though…10 minutes of fast and furious ‘now I know why I have to wear a helmet and a diaper’ fun. I laughed the whole way down. We had lunch and then went to the volcanic mud bath and hot spring. I hate mud. Everyone who knows me knows I hate mud. Jake especially knows how much I hate mud. So I spent the day psyching myself up to do the mud bath. Lots of positive self talk, convincing myself not to pass up this once in a life time opportunity…volcanic mud must be great for the skin….YOLO….I was ready! And then the smell hit me. And that was a big fat NO for me. The sulfer smell combined with the thought of mud on my skin. Nope. I did get a picture of myself standing next to the mud bath though. The hot spring with a swim up bar….heavenly. Absolute heaven. I could have stayed there all day and all night.
We came back to the hotel for a beach party in the evening, and I broke the two drink rule. Damn Prosecco…that’s all I have to say about that. Oh wait…no there’s more. Freshly made corn tortillas. Yes my friends, I could have eaten them all night if I would have laid off the Prosecco. I wish I would have put some in my purse for later or something, because seriously just writing about those tortillas makes me drool.
Our last day was spend poolside nursing my hangover. Some freshly pressed juice and a couple mimosas later and I was finally feeling human again. I spent the day reflecting on the experience. We ate some amazing food- I had what was probably the best steak I have ever in my life eaten, cooked and seasoned to perfection, an amazing burger for lunch, so many fresh fruits and vegetables, the best breakfast cauliflower ever, and those corn tortillas. Drool.
The last night we spent our suite, packing and relaxing. We had dinner reservations, and an early night so we could catch the shuttle and head home. I had missed my boys fiercely, and I couldn’t wait to see them. I am beyond grateful to my brother and sister in law who made this trip possible, my mom friends who boy and dog sat, and who videoed the wrestling matches I missed. I am grateful for my work wife and my sub admin and staff who kept things moving at work, so I didn’t have to worry about work while I was gone.
The most important thing I reflect on today is that parenting is a hard job; it’s a 24/7 job, it is a (usually) thankless job. This trip was a reminder that parents need to practice self care, they need to take time to stay connected, they need to relax and play together. Admittedly, and especially in the last three months, we have let the day to day bog us down and we haven’t even had date night! We needed this!!! While there is no place like home, and I was happy to see my kids, my dog and sleep in my own bed…I missed spending the days with my husband and the time we had together.
