A couple of weeks ago my parents and my sister came down to Costa Rica to visit me. It was great time to reunite and get a break from working in the office. It was also a wonderful time for our family to come together and spend “quality time” together, which is unfortunately so rare and few. Family togetherness is so important in Latin culture that my time here has really opened my eyes to how independent the American culture really is. For the most part, most Americans have lost sight of how rich and rewarding it is to spend quality time learning and growing together as a family. Living in Latin America where the culture is so “family-centered,” it has almost caused me to go into culture shock, which that in its self proves how personal independence is so deeply ingrained to my way of thinking and living.
Anyhow, I was so excited to see my family and get to travel around Costa Rica a bit. Ali’s parents also came to visit. The first stop was to the town La Fortuna, which is located right next to the famous Volcan Arenal. This volcano has been active for many years now and lava can seen spewing out at times. That first day everyone was pretty tired since they had caught a red eye flight that previous night. So after
some resting at the hotel, we all headed to the hot springs. Now these hot springs were incredible, something I’ve never seen, first of all, none of the pools smelled like sulfur, and there were something like 20 different varying temperature pools there. Now that place was the ideal vacation-relaxing place.
The next day we were all able to go on a canopy zip line tour in the rainforest near the volcano. There were a total of 10 zip lines, in which each person had a harness much like the ones used for rock climbing with 3 carabineers. You get attached to the rope by these 3 carabineers and you have a leather glove that you use to slow down on the rope. After getting attached, you are off and ready to fly down the line. It was such an incredible experience! One of the zip lines was 900 meters long and went
over two waterfalls. Also, at the top of one of the zip lines, there was an amazing view. To make things even more exciting there was a toucan sitting on top of a tree, and after a few minutes the toucan flew overhead. Which that sight in its self is so amazing to see, since you would think they would have a difficult time flying with such large beaks, but oh they can. Man, is God’s creation breathtaking! I recommend this experience to anyone coming to Costa Rica. Ali even said that it was more fun than skydiving.
After we finished with the zip lines we were able to go horseback riding. Then we got to take a look at their butterfly sanctuary, where there were beautiful blue iridescent butterflies. And to not go on and brag, but there also were poisonous dart frogs next to the sanctuary. It was pretty much an all-inclusive tour of Costa Rica’s finest.
The next day we took off to a beach town called Tamarindo, located in the north-western peninsula of Guanacaste. This was the most “developed’ beach town in the area, but I was surprised at how undeveloped most of Costa Rica really is. In Tamarindo, there were mostly dirt roads expect for one, and it had much of a surf beach town feel, which feels like home to me for some odd reason even though I’ve lived in the land-locked state of Colorado for so long. So, the next day of course Ali, Jen, and I went surfing. Tamarindo has very nice waves with a sand bar bottom, and the beach is very long and wide. During the time we were there the waves were considered “small to medium,” but they were perfect for us.
The next day we were able to go snorkeling at a nearby beach. There were many incredible fishes all around. I loved exploring and just seeing such intricate and colorful fishes that I know God had fun creating. I saw a blowfish that was in a shape of a ball with a blackish color and white poke-a-dots all over. Another fish was like a blowfish but was covered in sharp pointy spikes. He was a funny little creature to swim next to. From just the fishes of the sea and the incredible sunset we got to see that night, I just know that the Lord is a very passionate creative artist. It brings me so much joy to experience his creations.
After leaving Tamarindo, the family and I headed to Atenas, the town I have been living in. That night we had dinner with my host family. It was interesting to see the cross-cultural communication that went down between my parents and my host family. They really seemed to enjoy each other, and by the end my host family dad asked my dad to explain how presidential elections are organized in the US. Thank goodness my host family sister is a great translator. The next morning we attended the church that I have been going to, the service was entirely in Spanish, but my parents were patient and seemed to have enjoyed the experience. It was great to be able to connect part of my world back home to my life here in Costa Rica. I had a wonderful time with my parents and my sister, and I do have to say it was hard to say good-bye.
(A picture of a crazy holler monkey in a tree next to our hotel)
1 comment:
It is a shame that the "American family" has kind of faded away for most people. I think we all put our own independence too high and it results in a lot of selfish people (myself included sometimes). It's good to learn about and from different cultures, and in turn learn about our own.
You know, somehow I had forgotten what a toucan was! I had to look it up again and that's horrible because I used to be such a bird fanatic as a kid. We just don't learn about interesting enough things in college, do we? :P That's pretty cool that you got to see all of those creatures. Though poisonous, the frog is really pretty!
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