Costa Rica

We swore we would, so we did...times two! Not only did we start HQ's passport stamp collection (we have a whole lot of world to show her), but we finally, after more than a decade, finally took a beach vacation. And it turns out we're pretty big fans of travel with our tiny human and relaxing on a beach or next to the pool.

 Costa Rica, where we spent the week of Spring Break, was everything it promised to be: hot and humid, gorgeous, and full of friendly, baby-loving people.

 Our journey to Central America was less than direct - we flew from Midway to Baltimore before heading south to San Jose, CR - but it was an easy trip. HQ has proven to be an excellent traveler, so she was not phased by our very early departure time, our two flights (one of which was five hours), or our long car ride to our first stop, Fortuna.  She was equally excellent on our more direct return journey through Houston, which also included an early start to the day and lots of plane and car travel.


While in Fortuna, we did some hiking, some relaxing, and some swimming - in the thermal pools at our hotel.  We saw lots of lizards and great view of the volcano, both from our balcony and from various parks and trails around town.  We put lots of items on our 'trying corners' each meal as the breakfast buffets were packed with local favorites, and we had plenty of time to teach Harper how to enjoy floating in the pool.



the view from our balcony in Fortuna

out hiking



another balcony view

We left Fortuna and headed to Manuel Antonio at the mid-point of our trip, and I was certain we were not going to make it; everyone who said driving in Costa Rica was intense has grossly underrepresented the nature of car travel in the country.  We had a long drive, nearly five hours, so taking "the shortest route" Google Maps had to offer seemed wise...until we were driving on a near vertical road paved with softball-size rocks.  How we avoided whiplash or minor concussions is beyond me.

Once in Manuel Antonio, we continued to balance excursion time with beach and pool time.  We visited the national park, which was beautiful but extremely crowded, where we saw monkeys, lizards, coatis, and sloths; we enjoyed complimentary fruity drinks at the pool; we explored the beach and drank smoothies and margaritas in the perfectly temperate pool; we had lunch in the shade, swam for a while, and napped on our beach chairs (well, the littlest of us did); we enjoyed the local cuisine.



the beach at Parque Nacional de Manuel Antonio


breakfast company on day in Manuel Antonio

monkeying around
the private beach at Los Altos 
pool party


In all, we had a fantastic trip.  The weather was great (thanks, monsoon, for coming overnight), the people were fantastic, and our accommodates were supreme (even our less-than-stellar hotel in San Juan gets an A+ for allowing us the use of the restaurant freezer).  We'd do it all over again...except for the basil lemonade - the verdict is still out on that one. 

hiking in Parque Nacional de Manuel Antonio

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