Santa Elena, Costa Rica – We made our way from the tropical dry forests and beaches of Guanacaste to the mystical cloud forest around Santa Elena and Monteverde. We climbed some 4,662 feet, most of that on bumpy, windy, narrow…
Playa Samara
Playa Samara, Costa Rica – We keep coming back to this low-key town and its picturesque, palm-fringed beach (one of my Best Beaches for Kids in Costa Rica). This year, we changed it up by staying in Playa Samara, instead…
Turtle Tour 2: Arribada
Ostional, Costa Rica – Exactly two years ago, we took a turtle tour to Playa Camaronal, where we witnessed one brave olive ridley turtle, as she diligently, laboriously, dug her hole, deposited her eggs and returned to the sea. Last…
Snorkeling the Nicoya Peninsula
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica – Costa Rica is not much of a snorkeling and diving destination. I mean, there’s no reef here. For a tropical country with two coastlines, there is little to see–at least compared to Belize, which is…
Rincon de la Vieja
Liberia, Costa Rica – The twins were really excited about coming to Costa Rica. What were they most excited about? When I posed this question, Twin S answered unequivocally, unhesitatingly, that he couldn’t wait to go hiking. In fact, he’s…
Ultimate Travel
Somerville, Mass – For those of you who like to make lists and check them twice, here’s a handy reference: Lonely Planet’s list of the 500 best places to see. In the world. And they are ranked. When you get this…
Christmas – Here vs There
Somerville, Mass – The twins brought home a worksheet from school that we were supposed to fill out and return. Some of the questions included: My family members come from these countries ____________________________________ During the holidays, we celebrate _______________________________________________ A special…
Lonely Planet Costa Rica
Two words: Baby. Sloth. Oh my goodness. The newest edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Costa Rica is out! How can you not buy this book and immediately start planning your trip to Costa Rica? (Just in case you…
New Books
Somerville, Mass – Before I was a travel writer, I worked as a program administrator for an environmental research program at Harvard. I’ll never forget the day that a box of brand new, hot-off-the-presses books showed up at our office.…
Jungle Boys
Somerville, Mass – Regular readers may remember that the twins started potty training shortly before leaving for Costa Rica. This was not planned by me, obviously. But when the boys showed an interest in using the potty, I was not…