Costa Rica

Much like starting kindergarten or getting a driver's license, I rank going to Costa Rica as hitting another milestone in your kids' lives. Bit of an overstatement? Maybe. But hear me out. They are finally old enough for the adventures you see in magazines -- zip lining, rafting, surfing. But even more, they will probably do these things better than you. Now, they are the ones cheering you on, and now, you're the one mustering up your courage. If you can pause for a second during all of your whirlwind adventures, you'll get weepy thinking about the first time they jumped into your arms from the ledge of a pool. And now look at them.

We started our adventure at Rio Celeste, a river in the jungle known for its distinctive turquoise color. Legend has it that the river turned this unreal shade of blue when God washed his paint brush off in it, and no matter what the science says, I think that story explains it best. We had to wait three days for the pounding rain to let up (and the mud in the river to settle) to see it, and I will never forget that magical moment when we jumped in and splashed around in the paint brush rinse water.

Our time in the jungle was also marked by a category of activities I consider the "don't look down" adventures. You can't really go to Costa Rica without zip lining, so for anyone who despises heights as much as I do, I will say, it's actually not that bad. You're zooming above the treetops so quickly, you don't really have time to think about your crippling acrophobia -- or anything else, for that matter. (Doesn't that make it sound less scary?)

Another one: hanging bridges. Rickety, wobbly, stomach-turning hanging bridges. Like you're walking through a scene in Avatar, but with far less agility than those blue guys. Joking aside, it's a chance to see all sorts of jungle life -- sloths, frogs, monkeys, toucans and plants and flowers straight out of Nat Geo. It rained during most of our visit to the rainforest (duh), so I couldn't get the pictures of my kids hugging sloths that I had envisioned. (What can I say? I'm an optimist.) But we spotted them high in the treetops, and their drenched and matted fur paired with their signature droopy eyes made us all feel a tad better about our own rain-soaked jungle lewks. (Funny, I didn't anticipate it being so hard to snap photos of one of the world's slowest animals, but nature always wins, doesn't she?)

More rain. Pounding rain. We finally reached Rio Celeste Waterfall in Tenorio Volcano National Park, and unsurprisingly, the water was brown that day. No matter, we got our steps in, and the freshly made empanadas we shoved into our backpacks at the beginning of the hike somehow stayed warm until we inhaled them minutes after this photo was taken. Sometimes, it's the little things.

Speaking of little things ... how chic do these striped umbrellas look with the jungle as their backdrop? (Unruly kids, notwithstanding.)

Rock, paper, scissor, crocodile. Here we are on our rafting trip, where crocodile sightings became so ho-hum, we had to resort to childish games to liven things up. In all seriousness, it was a scenic and serene trip down the river, the pace for which enabled us to play Where's Waldo? with the monkeys, iguanas and the many, many man-eating reptiles. I suppose next time I could tolerate more rapids, so long as there are far fewer crocodiles.

The second half of our trip was spent on the beaches of Costa Rica. The water felt like a bath, and the waves were ideal for whatever your heart desired -- surfing, with your body or on a board, frolicking, or lulling you into a lazy afternoon nap.

Every morning, our biggest decision was, "which beach?" Bustling and tourist-filled, but like, in a good way? Or peaceful and secluded, in a billionaire-with-a-private-beach way? We were situated for both. The lively town of Tamarindo, with it's old school, historic surf town vibe, was a fun place for brunching, beaching and afternoon gelato-ing. The backyard to our hotel, on the other hand, gave us access to rocky tide pools, lavish beach almond trees and a tucked away corner of Playa Langosta with the whitest sand and the wildest waves.

Costa Rica stole our hearts. We will be back for sure someday, with new adventures and new fears to conquer. When are you going?