I’ve been lucky in travel. I was born with an itchy foot to explore the world, maybe because I’m a child of different cultures. My dad, a white guy from Utah, married my mom, a hot pepper from Chile. (Yes, it’s a country, no they don’t eat Chili there.) Having 2 different cultures in my household growing up gave me an appreciation for wanting to learn and experience more than what was around me. Also, being one of the few kids that traveled to another country in my youth, the wanderlust experience never left me.
So when I got all growed up and became my own self-sufficient person, it was disheartening that I couldn’t afford to explore the world at large. Again, I have been lucky in travel. Some friends introduced me to a cool concept that was new in vacations- a wholesale travel club. Again, the doors to other places revealed themselves in my life. My first journey- a Costa Rica adventure trip with my Mom! Okay, so we stayed in a four-star, all-inclusive resort on the beach. Where is the adventure in that, you ask? It’s an adventure in being spoiled, I say! And there is certainly fun in that! Beyond that, we went on exciting excursions every day. I experienced watching my first bull fight. The breath of the bull was fresh in my ears, and the pounding in the seats as the thud from the bull’s body hitting the ground was intense.
We were also robbed by a monkey! I have yet to meet another person who has shared in this fate. It’s true! I have video of the whole thing! A group of us were walking through a nature trail to get to the beach when a mama monkey with a baby on her back came swinging in the trees above us. The crowd ooh’d and ahh’d as we excitedly experienced a monkey encounter without fences. Then SWOOP! Out of the trees, the mama came flying, grabbed a banana from a purse and off she went! I didn’t really care for the values she was teaching her child, but a mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do I suppose.
The final feat? Ziplining in the rainforest! What an experience. We trekked up the hills to get to higher levels. The idea of flying was exhilarating. We reached our first flight destination, gloves on, harness locked, eyes looking out, then down… and suddenly the adrenaline kicked in. However, when you hear that your 82 year old friend did this earlier in the day, there’s no backing down. So with a deep breath in, off I went. I felt like Tinkerbell, flying through the trees! Birds were soaring next to me, rainforest creatures were singing in joy and I did believe in fairies! Then I saw the video- I looked more like the flying monkey’s from the Wizard of Oz, all discombobulated in flight. What the heck, it was fun and an experience that I’ll never forget.
If you’ve never had the chance to go to Costa Rica, I definitely recommend it! It’s a magical country with many mysteries waiting to be discovered. Hopefully, you too, can be lucky in travel!
