Costa Rica – Questions Answered

Q: Why go to another country at all? Why a month? Why Costa Rica?

A: We didn’t have any particular connection to Costa Rica, nor did we have a particular reason to live in another country for a month. We just love trying new things, love learning about other cultures, love/hate getting outside of our comfort zones, and we had the flexibility with homeschool and Scott’s work schedule to make it happen. We decided to go “not too far” this first time and chose a country where we speak the language (somewhat… I brushed up on my Spanish and the kids all learned some to prepare). Scott came for two weeks, then went home for two weeks to work.

My dad joined us for the last three weeks, so I always had backup. This was a very good decision.

That last sentence was foreshadowing.

Q: How did you decide where to stay? What to do?

A: We initially looked into using a tour company to coordinate parts of the trip, but quickly learned that didn’t fit our style or our budget. So, I hopped on Airbnb and VRBO and looked for big, inexpensive houses that looked like they could handle 5 young kids. I skipped most very touristy areas, and ended up booking about a week in each spot. We generally chose 1 paid “special” activity in each spot and spent the rest of our time hiking, finding local flavor, following where serendipity led, etc.

Q: What was the hardest part of the trip?

A: Hmmm… there were some contenders here with a difficult day getting back to the states amidst the Coronavirus scare, times without electricity, a day without running water, a few times getting fairly lost, one time we nearly froze riding horses on a mountain… but I would say having Scott fly back Oregon on the day I figured out that all of our kids were getting Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (one at a time. ) I was so grateful to have my dad there! I truly had more than I could handle alone.

This little girl had eczema and had a rare, awful reaction to HFMD and her skin just exploded in angry sores (not shown) (you’re welcome). Thankfully, since her disease cleared up her eczema has disappeared as well.

Q: What was the best part of the trip?

Making wonderful memories together as a family. The hard parts were just as important as the lovely parts because they made the lovely parts so much sweeter. Aside from the week when we hunkered down with sickies, every single day was story-worthy and we’ll be sharing those (sometimes tall) tales with each other for years to come.

This photo, for example, looks like just a family in front of a beautiful waterfall. But the backstory is that one of the kids in this family struggled hard on this hike, and has had honestly a really challenging series of months strung together. Halfway up the mountain there was a full-on meltdown and I thought we’d have to split up. But, the whole family rallied support, were quick to forgive, and patiently helped so that every last one of us made it to the top. I cried with happiness when I saw the look on this child’s face at the waterfall.

Q: How was the flight home with pandemic panic in the airports?

Well, we made it! That’s the main thing, and that’s what I kept repeating to myself all day long. “We’ll make it.”

I started saying it with our 4am wakeup call and uber rides to the airport. I said it when after all our prepping, my touchy kids started running their hands all over things at the airport and a concerned woman in line busted out her disinfectant within five minutes of our arrival.

I said it when we navigated 6 carryon suitcases, 2 backpacks, 4 car seats, a stroller and a pack-and-play through 2 hours of customs.

I said it when one kid unexpectedly wet their pants, another one blew out a diaper, and another kid left a treasured and expensive possession on our airplane. It was promptly trashed along with any other left items as a sanitation precaution as soon as we disembarked, and this poor kiddo proceeded to weep loudly in the terminal. This, incidentally, coincided with the pressing diaper concern.

One kid drenched himself in apple juice on the third flight and required a change of clothes. The baby was totally out of pants by the time we made it home, and I had aged at least a decade during that long day. But, we smiled until the last, knowing we were going to make it, and make it we did!

We’re hoping to head somewhere new next year. Any suggestions?