Costa Rica — December
My 7-year-old still talks about the frogs. Every. Single. Night.
T
The Rodriguez Family
"We didn't plan a family holiday. Wandr planned a family transformation."
We almost booked an all-inclusive in Cancún. Same as every year. Kids in the pool, adults with margaritas, everyone on phones by day three. My wife said we needed something different. I didn't believe an app could fix that.
Wandr asked how old our kids were (7 and 11), what they were curious about (our daughter loved animals, our son was going through a "survival skills" phase), and — this was the question that got me — "What do you want your children to remember about this trip when they're 30?" I wrote: "That we did something brave together."
It sent us to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica — not the touristy Pacific coast, but the wild, biodiverse, slightly muddy south. The itinerary was extraordinary. Day 3 said: "At 7pm, walk 200 metres down the trail behind your lodge with a red-filtered flashlight. Your guide Marco (book through the lodge, he only does 3 tours per week) will show you the red-eyed tree frogs that emerge at exactly this hour. Your 7-year-old will be the one who spots the first one. Trust us." Sofia spotted three before anyone else. She hasn't stopped talking about it. It's been eight months.
Our son learned to use a machete to open coconuts from a local farmer named Don Carlos, who also taught him which plants you can eat in the rainforest. My wife and I watched a sunset from a wooden platform above the canopy where the lodge serves two glasses of wine at 5:30pm — "no reservation needed, just show up, there are only two chairs and somehow they're always free." They were.
Wandr asked how old our kids were (7 and 11), what they were curious about (our daughter loved animals, our son was going through a "survival skills" phase), and — this was the question that got me — "What do you want your children to remember about this trip when they're 30?" I wrote: "That we did something brave together."
It sent us to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica — not the touristy Pacific coast, but the wild, biodiverse, slightly muddy south. The itinerary was extraordinary. Day 3 said: "At 7pm, walk 200 metres down the trail behind your lodge with a red-filtered flashlight. Your guide Marco (book through the lodge, he only does 3 tours per week) will show you the red-eyed tree frogs that emerge at exactly this hour. Your 7-year-old will be the one who spots the first one. Trust us." Sofia spotted three before anyone else. She hasn't stopped talking about it. It's been eight months.
Our son learned to use a machete to open coconuts from a local farmer named Don Carlos, who also taught him which plants you can eat in the rainforest. My wife and I watched a sunset from a wooden platform above the canopy where the lodge serves two glasses of wine at 5:30pm — "no reservation needed, just show up, there are only two chairs and somehow they're always free." They were.
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