What follows are some lessons, in no particular order, that my family learned during our amazing ten-day trip to Costa Rica.

Lesson 1: If you think that something small can’t be strong, you haven’t met a bullet ant.
First, I should mention that one of my daughters is usually the smallest in her class and we are often telling her that great things come in small packages. This lesson was reinforced deep in the rain forest. While at Tirimbina Biological Preserve, our guide handed out big rain boots for everyone to put on to protect us from the dangers that many of the crawling rain forest insects pose. After learning more about some of the creatures of the rain forest, my family decided that the scariest one of all was not the wild jaguar, but the bullet ant – an ant that, while it may be large for an ant, is still quite a small animal. Yet, there’s a reason why its name is the bullet ant: its bite can cause pain equivalent to being shot by a bullet. While the bullet ant may have been one of the smallest creatures we saw during our time in Costa Rica, it certainly seemed to be one of the strongest. A good life lesson for our petite girls.

Lesson 2: The Muppets versus sea turtles = no competition.
What I had thought would be the highlight of our trip was trumped by meeting a fellow traveler from Los Angeles; turns out she was a puppeteer who has played the role of Miss Piggy. We met her in Tortuguero, one of the most remote areas of Costa Rica and a very important green sea turtle nesting site. We took a four-hour boat ride to arrive in this magical place and while we were there we were lucky enough to watch a turtle deposit over 100 eggs in a deep hole she had dug, cover the eggs with sand, and then spread sand over the area to obscure the location of the nest. About 50 yards down the beach, another sea turtle who had finished laying her eggs was re-entering the ocean. Since adult sea turtles do not nurture their hatchlings, those turtles will never see their babies again.

When asked about our trip upon our return home, my daughter said, "One of the best parts of the trip was when we were in Tortuguero and met Miss Piggy, but it sure was a long four hour boat ride just to see some turtles lay eggs." Go figure…

Lesson 3: Parents don’t know everything.
Given our lack of fluency in Spanish, there were times during our trip to Costa Rica when neither my husband nor I had any idea what was going on. One night at a fast food chicken restaurant in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, families were streaming in and grabbing dinner to take home. My husband ordered and then we sat at tables watching the town pass by; everyone else seemed to get their food, pay, and then go home. The girls were somewhat amazed that their parents had no idea what was going on. Eventually, our food arrived, but not before an important lesson was learned. As with most families with young children, at home my husband and I spend much of our time explaining to our children what to do or, too often, what not to do. During this trip, there were many situations where we were just as clueless as they were about what we were supposed to do or what would happen next.

Lesson 4: Sometimes you can’t go back (and it may be for the best).
While horseback riding, our daughter’s horse took off in a gallop up a hill away from the other horses and really spooked her; she had previously only ever rode a pony around an enclosed track. Sensing an imminent meltdown from our daughter, we asked the guide, who spoke only minimal English, if we could return to the stables, hoping that ‘return’ was an easily translatable word. He replied, “No retorno.” So we continued on our trek, which turned into a 2 hour adventure over streams, through fields, and past backcountry Costa Rican roads. Had we been able to effectively communicate our desire to prematurely end our horseback riding adventure, we would have missed out on the chance for our daughter to overcome her fear of the horse and triumphantly announce at the end “I think I like horseback riding. Can we go again?”

Lesson 5: Looks aren’t everything.
One of the highlights of the trip for all members of our family was the chocolate making tour at Tirimbina Biological Preserve. After crossing an amazing 860 foot long (and frightfully narrow) suspension bridge, you arrive at a shelter dedicated to recreating the lost art of chocolate making in Central America. Our guide took us through the process that transforms cacao into chocolate, using only primitive tools. To begin, our daughters cracked open a cacao fruit; the inside of the fruit literally looks like a human brain. However, if you are brave enough, and our daughters were, to put a piece of this gross-looking substance into your mouth, you got a sense of how this ugly matter would eventually transform itself into a delectable chocolate bar.

Lesson 6: Dr. Doolittle isn’t just in the movies.
We were fortunate to have some knowledgeable nature guides who accompanied us into the rainforest and the canals of Tortuguero. One of the best of these guides was Modesto Watson, the co-owner of Riverboat Francesca nature tours. While driving us on a boat through the canals of Tortuguero, Modesto was able to mimic the cries of the male howler monkeys. He was such a good mimic that the monkeys would respond to his cries so that it seemed as if he was really conversing with the animals, just like Dr. Doolittle in the kid’s film. Back and forth they would go with one another; until by the end of the conversation you were wondering what the monkeys and Modesto had really discussed and if, perhaps, they have been talking and laughing about you.

Lesson 7: Laughter is universal.
I thought our children might make some Costa Rican friends during our adventure and they did have fun at one of the bed and breakfasts we stayed at playing with the owner’s grandchildren. But the most fun they had was hanging out with two German girls in the pool at Playa Negra Guesthouse in Cahuita. What kept them laughing for hours was playing with the bed and breakfast owner’s dog, who inexplicably loved it when the girls (and anyone else willing to do so) would throw her pool water so she could jump up high and catch it in her mouth.

If You Go
I spent months researching this itinerary and I would recommend following a similar route to ours if you are traveling in August. Traveling during this time of year means you are seeing Costa Rica during the rainy season. However, we experienced little rain; this may be not be the norm but some people we met while we there indicated that the rainy season has not lived up to its reputation during the past few years. We elected not to rent a car and instead arranged transportation through each of the places where we stayed. This proved to be an excellent method of traveling; no worries about Costa Rican roads or crazy drivers plus some of our drivers turned out to be engaging and informative tour guides in their own right.

Activities
Riverboat Francesca, Tortuguero Nature Tours
A really good choice for touring Tortuguero. Owners Fran and Modesto Watson, offer smaller boats than the bigger tour companies and Modesto is a great wildlife guide with whom we spotted toucans, caimans, Jesus Christ Lizards (so called for their ability to walk on water), and howler monkeys.

Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Chocolate Tour
Tirimbina’s chocolate tour is not to be missed; great fun for kids and adults. Not only is it an educational experience, but at each step of the presentation, participants get to try out the chocolate in that state. We sampled hot chocolate, chocolate bars, and pure cacao paste.

Aventuras del Sarapiquí, Whitewater rafting on the River Sarapiquí
Great guides took us down the Class 2 and 3 rapids of the River Sarapiquí; perfect rafting for our 9 year olds. The water was not too rough and the guides were great with the kids.

Jaguar Rescue Center near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
A very kid-friendly place where you can hold baby monkeys who have lost their mothers and are being rehabilitated so that they can return to the jungle. Baby sloths are also a huge draw.

Places to Stay
Posada Andrea Cristina, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí
Owner Alex Martinez is like your favorite uncle who wants to make sure you have the time of your life while staying with him. He made arrangements for us to go whitewater rafting, served us his homemade bread, got permission for us to use a nearby hotel’s pool and then shuttled us over there because he thought the girls would appreciate a dip in a pool on a hot day. They did.

Casa Marbella, Tortuguero
Many people travel to Tortuguero as part of a package deal with transport from San Jose, and an all-inclusive jungle lodge stay. We chose to travel independently and, therefore we were able to stay in the village of Tortuguero at Casa Marbella, a small bed and breakfast where the cleaning ladies arranged the towels in the shape of monkeys each morning. Staying here enabled us to walk through the village with the girls and see local kids sitting at their desks in their open-air school, watch a soccer game in the town square, and sample some of the famous local food of Miss Miriam’s and Miss Junie’s.

Playa Negra Guesthouse, Cahuita
The Caribbean side of Costa Rican has a huge Jamaican influence and is much less developed than the more commonly visited Pacific side. This means that the town of Cahuita consists of some dirt roads, a few somewhat fancy restaurants, a national park, and some amazing beaches. Playa Negra Guesthouse is a great place to stay for families since it is made up of several cottages located in lush gardens with a pool in the middle. The guest house’s buildings are all behind a locked gate so the kids can run around on their own. The cottages are clean, large, and airy. Playa Negra Guesthouse was the perfect base to spend a few days hanging out on the beach and exploring Cahuita National Park. Playa Negra Guesthouse was also able to arrange for a taxi to take us back to the San Jose area for our last nights in Costa Rica.

Finca Rosa Blanca, Santa Bárbara de Heredia
Because we were travelling during the green season, there were great deals to be had and one of those deals was at Finca Rosa Blanca, a beautiful lodge on a coffee plantation located not far from the San Jose airport. They were having a two-for-one special which we used to spend two glorious days and nights unwinding after our active vacation.

Copyright © Laura Dines. All rights reserved. When Laura Dines is not traveling (or planning to travel) with her family, she works in the field of instructional technology. She is currently a project manager at a consulting firm, but in past working lives she produced and edited content PBS.org and conducted research for National Geographic Television.