We Might Not Be Back: A Month in Costa Rica Comes to a Close

There is little I hate more than anticipating the end of a trip. Packing everything up is always a nightmare. Thinking about long drives or return flights makes me about nauseous and in this case we had both to look forward to. We spent our last day at the beach closest to our house. This was a relief to me because I was getting a little stressed by one of the gravel covered bridges on the way to the other beaches where I always seemed to slide a little :( Unfortunately we found yet another dead sea turtle on the beach. This one looked like it hadn’t been there quite as long. Otherwise it was a lovely day which of course ended with some beans and rice ;)
The next day in the interest of not having to clean more sand out of the girls bathing suits we made it a pool day. This was perfectly fine with the girls who had a lovely time leaping off of Dan’s shoulders. It is pretty crazy that in a month you can completely forget the climate that you came from.
That evening when we took the girls to say goodbye to Enrique, Grace and their son. We were invited to stay for a delicious dinner of ceviche and fried plantains. On the list of things that in other circumstances I’d be unlikely to eat both of these rank pretty high. On past trips down here I’ve choked down those revolting plantains that are normally served with breakfast. I believe they are pan fried and cooked with sugar and they stay sort of like mushy bananas. These super tasty fried plantains are more like a french fry and I could eat platefuls. Ceviche is simply fantastic and if I weren’t scared to make my own I would eat it everyday. The girls, being the polite children they are, both asked for seconds. We had to follow it up at home with leftover beans and rice which we didn’t want to go to waste.
Today was the last drive to San Jose. I can’t say I am sad to leave the roads here behind. Just over halfway into our drive we watched a motorcycle smash into a truck and the driver flipped over. Thankfully he only hurt his arm, but it was pretty terrifying. We all made it in one piece and in pretty good time. This naturally included a last obligatory stop at the crocodiles. Is it bad when the parking attendant knows who you are? I think this time we were at about 7 1/2 hrs for the 350 km journey. It is pretty crazy that this drive can be anywhere from 7-10 hours depending on the traffic and number of trucks or tractors you get stuck behind. After a pretty successful trip to the souvenir shop and a slightly less successful dinner I was delighted to turn in our rental car. Tomorrow we will be up early to head to the airport and return home. I am dying to hear what sticks out in the girls minds as the most notable stories from this trip. I have a feeling watching the motorcylist flip over the truck will rank pretty high up there unfortunately. Lottie might still stick with her cows on the beach story though.
This has been an amazing trip and I am incredibly grateful to be able to give my children opportunities like this. I think this year they really enjoyed themselves. I know at the very least they adored seeing the people who work on the Finca. I am hoping they enjoyed the animals and all the fresh fruit too.