Pura Vida in Costa Rica
We did a surprise (to the kids) family trip to Costa Rica in late 2019 just after Christmas and over New Year's. I celebrated my 38th birthday in the rainforest, which was incredible. We began the journey by flying into one of the two main airports in Costa Rica, Liberia. From there we got a rental car and drove (what felt like a never-ending 3-4 hours) to the area of La Fortuna which is an area in Costa Rica that is known for Arenal, an active volcano. Now mind you, active means the last time it actually erupted was 2010. You can still see it smoking though. The area is a tropical rainforest and is teeming with flora and fauna unlike we had ever seen before. There were coatimundi, red-eyed tree frogs, toucans, sloths, macaws, snakes, giant beetles, walking sticks, leaf-cutter ants, and yes scary Brazilian wandering spiders and orb-weavers (I am just SOOOOOOOOOOO glad I did not cross paths with a tarantula. I just can't.). The lodge in the rainforest was so much fun with sus