After a very busy lead-up where there were times when it looked like we just weren’t going to make it, all 12 of us, grandma, three daughters, their partners, and five grandkids ages 2-12 years, did manage to get away to Coco, Costa Rica for 8 days of sun and fun between March 31 – April 7, 2025.
This trip turned out to be very special for our family. It was exciting, full of adventure, great food, good times, and the wonderful experience of getting to know each other more intimately.
There were many “first times” for all of us. Especially the five grandchildren.
It was the first time in Costa Rica for most of the family. Only Dave (Brittany’s boyfriend) and I, had ever been there and never in this area. It was the first time to swim in the Pacific Ocean and watch the sun set over the rolling waves each night. It was our first time to experience a small active rip-tide. We were very careful!
It was the first time to ride a catamaran, snorkel in the ocean, see high-leaping manta rays fly out of the sea, and watch frisky dolphins play beside our boat. The kids and adults had fun jumping off the high deck of the ship into the ocean for their first time.
It was the children’s first time to see an iguana (more than one) and pick fresh mangoes and coconuts off a tree. The first time to see a small gecko and hear it’s funny chirps every night. First time to see toucans, jaguars, sloths, and crocodiles, and to hear and see wild howler monkeys just after dawn each morning. First time to play with saucy white-faced capuchin monkeys who leap right up to the glass at the conservatory and try to touch our faces and hands. They made us laugh! For the first time, we were surrounded by 100 or more beautiful iridescent blue butterflies. Some of them landed on our fingers and ankles.
It was the first time to hike down jungle paths, walk carefully over a suspension bridge hung in a deep gully, and leap off a cliff into the water at the base of a tall 100-metre waterfall. First time to ride on the back of an ox, eat Costa Rican casado, and hear live traditional Costa Rican musicians.
It was our first time to sit in thermal pools in the jungle, heated by underground streams leading from active volcanoes, and our first time to cover ourselves in warm, soothing mud which left our skin smooth and soft. First time to lie in a river of purity, letting the streams of rushing waters cleanse and refresh our bodies.
First time to ride a golf cart, right downtown, and do your shopping for unique souvenirs. First time to eat delicious Costa Rican food. First time to drink a kid’s version Pina Colada. Yum! First time to eat fresh tropical fruit for breakfast every day; mangoes, papaya, guava, cantaloupe, star fruit, passion fruit, watermelon, pineapples and coconuts, bought at the local fruit stands or picked off the trees in our complex.
First time to celebrate a birthday in Costa Rica. Happy 8th birthday, Wolf! First time to lose a tooth, have Uncle Bill find it, and have the Tooth Fairy visit in Costa Rica. We spent hours in our private pool inventing first-time games of torpedo, whirlpool, I can lift Grandma on my shoulders, challenging races, How long can I hold my breath, and learning how to swim.
And best of all, for the first time, all 12 of us spent 8 wonderful days together from morning to night. We had so much fun! I want to do it again!
After our trip – Liam’s first drawing of a Toucan that he drew in response to his Gr. 7 teacher saying, “Draw me a picture of an animal you saw in Costa Rica.”
