Costa Rica Week 5: Nature’s Fury, New Homes, and Adventure

Welcome back to another installment of our family’s worldschool adventure. Adventure is certainly an apt word, as Merriam Webster defines the noun adventure as “an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks” or “an exciting or remarkable experience.” When used as a verb “to adventure” can mean “to expose to danger or loss” or “to proceed despite risk.” 

Based on what you’ll read this week, I think you’ll agree that “adventure” is a fitting word to describe what we’re doing. I’m sure, however, that opinions are mixed on whether an adventure, or this particular adventure, was the proper choice for our family. However, as I alluded to in ‘Why Worldschooling? And Why Now?’ the choice to embark on this adventure was made for myriad reasons and grounded in the notion that staying the course was not without risk or downside too.

As you’ll see in our Highlights of the Week, homesickness, uncertainty and danger are certainly some of our constant traveling companions. These themes show up also in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly this week, and after numerous “stick or twist” conversations, they return in our lesson learned too. As always, thanks for joining us for the adventure that is our crazy, worldschool year!

Highlights of the Week

Monkey Matinee

The howler monkeys who hung out with us last week returned for a final “monkey matinee” during our last days in Puerto Viejo. They were quite active in the trees above our house, swinging, jumping, howling away, and letting us snap a few more pictures. Little Brother and Sister particularly enjoyed the fact that monkeys don’t wear underwear, and found it quite humorous to watch them “let it all hang out” (if you look closely you’ll see what I mean…).

Fire Ants!

As if the pit viper from two weeks ago and the scorpion from last week weren’t enough, we had a visit from more unsavory creatures this week – fire ants. And unfortunately it wasn’t just one or two, but dozens and dozens, including one night where there were literally hundreds swarming all over our back deck. Our host assured us that this was normal and they do this from time to time, promising they will leave as fast as they came – sure enough they were mostly dispersed within an hour. But we killed countless intruders who ventured into the house over the course of a couple days, and their bites definitely hurt!

Homesickness

Most of our party have been dealing with some pretty serious homesickness over the last couple weeks. Ultimately we concluded that a month would have been enough time for us to spend in Costa Rica; however, we’ve got an additional 2+ months left! In Sister’s well-articulated conclusion, “everything is overwhelming here.” From driving to language barriers to grocery prices and selection to the relentless heat and humidity and the presence of all sorts of “watch-your-step” creatures everywhere, everyday living remains “overwhelming.”

New Homes

After 2 ½ weeks in the Caribbean, we are on the move. In fact, over the next month we will visit several different locations in Costa Rica before arriving at our final five-week “home” along the Pacific Coast. Highlights of the next month’s travels include our current home of Guapiles (with bountiful nature right at our doorstep), La Fortuna (home of Arenal volcano), Monteverde (home of the famed cloud forests), and a couple weeks spent along the coast in the “Blue Zone” Nicoya Peninsula. Then we’ll spend two nights in Tarcoles before arriving at Dominical.

An Earthquake (Sort of)

As we were driving from Puerto Viejo to Guapiles, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Panama, the country just south of Costa Rica. People throughout Costa Rica reported feeling the effects of the quake, and there have been over 100 aftershocks rumbling for days. We didn’t really notice it, but ironically during the drive Nolan expressed an interest in experiencing a small earthquake such as the ones Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily get in Southern California. Ask and ye shall receive.

An Almighty Thunderstorm

Just after our arrival in Guapiles, and while reading reports of the earthquake to our south, we endured the most intense thunderstorm I’ve ever witnessed. The lightning was everywhere around us, the incessant rumbling and reverberation of the thunder was everywhere, and the rain pelted down in torrents. Sister, in particular, was remarkably unimpressed, and the sheer amplitude of the storm made even hearing one another challenging.

A Nature Walk at Our New Home

The host at our new Airbnb has been very welcoming (she lives on the property). She’s helped us harvest and prepare yucca, has picked lemons so we can make lemonade, and spent a morning showing us around her almost 10-acre property. We got to experience a hanging bridge, poison dart frogs, leafcutter ants, beautiful flowers, and some very cool trees that reminded us of the Ents from Lord of the Rings.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

Dad – The new Airbnb we are in provides a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively). First off, it’s not swelteringly hot all the time like the Caribbean. Even walking the beach was hot and humid. Our only means to combat the heat in Puerto Viejo was by turning on the two air conditioners, but that meant closing all the “windows” (aka big wooden doors – no screens or netting) and existing in a dark, cave-like environment. That worked for short periods, and at night, but could get depressing, so we tried to keep things open until crankiness prevailed.

But here in Guapiles we have some cooler, less humid air, as a result of the nearby mountains (the biggest “mountain” we can see from our place, I learned, is actually Turrialba Volcano). It’s also nice to exist in a place that feels a little less like “glamping.” It even has ready-made activities like a yard for soccer, trails for nature walks and a stream for water play. The stream also is a wonderful sound machine at night, as we can now sleep with the windows open (there’s even window screens!) with no need of A/C.

Mom – Our new Airbnb is a nice breath of fresh air, while I enjoyed the warmer temps of the Caribbean the humidity could get to be a bit much after a while. It’s really nice being able to keep the windows open all day/night and having screens in the windows are an added bonus. Sister especially hated when bugs, moths and the occasional hummingbird would find their way inside the house. I love being able to hear the stream at night while enjoying the fresh air. This house has a more comfortable and safer feel about it (not that the last place felt unsafe, it just had more unexpected challenges). The large open concept house is great and the covered wrap-around porch on the second floor is a nice spot to view the lush gardens.

Making fresh lemonade from the abundance of lemons around the property was fun (see picture below). Sister, who insisted that she doesn’t like lemonade, even tried it and shocker- liked it!

Older Brother – We went to a new Airbnb a few days ago and it is a whole lot nicer than the other place. This new place has a LOT more to do and actually has a yard and has more to do around like the biggest volcano in Costa Rica. Also today we took a walk in the back yard woods and we saw poison dart frogs and after that we made lemonade from lemon trees on the property and it had too much sugar 😁.

Sister – We went to Cocles beach a lot and when we were there I did a lot of boogie boarding. At our new  Airbnb  we can walk to a stream that we can wade in. The woman that owns the Airbnb keeps her dogs on leashes. The woman that owns the Airbnb gave us a nature tour of her woods and I thought that it was interesting.

Younger Brother – I liked building castles in the sand at Cocles Beach. I also like having a stream at the new Airbnb.

The Bad

Dad – Having to look everywhere I step. Things seem to have improved slightly, but from pit vipers to scorpions to fire ants, I was starting to live “on edge” in our Caribbean jungle home. There were nice things about the place – the proximity to the beach, the chance to see and hear less-hostile creatures from the comfort of our home – but we were ready to move on. Though there are dangerous creatures around here too, the actual place we’re inhabiting at least feels safer. But on my walk today I couldn’t help but think of what might be lurking under the leaves…

Mom – Trying to keep things positive and light can occasionally be a challenge when everyone else is seeming glum or struggling with some of our new norms of daily life. I do ok without a set schedule or structure but everyone else is having a harder time adjusting to that. “Yes, today is Sunday and yes we’re doing school work. Why? Because Friday was a ‘school day’ but instead of school we were transitioning from one place to the next”… This is a conversation we have on a regular basis. We cannot adhere to a strict Monday-Friday school/work week and we need the flexibility. We try our best to prepare the kids ahead of time having conversations about when we’re hoping/planning to do certain activities and how/when school will happen.

Older Brother – My parents made us go to the beach every single day and the beach was already starting to get old and now it’s just plain old boring. But now we are at a new place with no beach 😁.

Sister – We had fire ants in/ on the back deck at our old Airbnb. They weren’t really in our house, they were mostly on the back deck. Only a few came in and bit dad and mom.

Younger Brother – My sister was getting more attention than me. I also did not like going on the nature walk at our new Airbnb, because we had to wear boots.

The Ugly

Dad – In addition to (and sometimes because of) the pervading sense of “overwhelm” we’ve been experiencing, I’ve also been fighting a soul-sucking angst when thinking about the big picture and our future. My mind can go to some dark places and the questions come fast and furious… Why did we sell our house and give up our “stable life?” What if I was naive or wrong in my logic? What if I’ve permanently screwed up my kids? What is the point of this whole worldschooling adventure if we’re not “thriving” (see lesson learned)? What happens when we get back? Where exactly do we go, for how long, and how (these questions do have answers, by the way, just not when I’m in a ruminative state)?

Then I go even bigger – What the F*&% is going on in the USA and do we even want to go back? Will there be a “stable democracy” to return to? And if not, what then? I often feel like an American outcast, with no mooring and only half a plan, pining for a past that didn’t really exist and a future that is uncertain to say the least. That’s the “adventure,” I guess, but it’s tough to be an effective teacher, dad, husband, and “travel leader” when I’m perpetually in the midst of an existential crisis.

Mom – Younger brother ‘catching’ whatever gastrointestinal issues older brother was dealing with provided us with a couple rough days and some anxiety about embarking on our 2.5 hour drive to our next stay. Luckily the car ride went smoothly, or as smoothly as it can with 3 kids and 2 booster seats crammed in the back of a RAV4.

Older Brother – At the last place we were we had a fire ant invasion (basically fire ants swarmed one of the decks and started coming in the house.)

Sister – I still  miss my friends and family. The heat here is really bad if you ask me. But if you ask my mom… who knows she’s always cold. 

Younger Brother – I was sick this week for a couple days.

Lesson Learned

Sometimes we thrive, sometimes we survive.

It’s no secret that Costa Rica has been challenging for us, from the heat to the dangerous creatures, and from the language barrier to having to live, shop, and move about in a culture so different from the one we left behind. And while “getting out there and immersing yourself in local culture” is common worldschool maxim, this prescription appears designed for extroverts rather than our more introverted selves.

As Dad wrote in the “Why Worldschooling?” article, growth and cultural exposure were definitely part of the reason we did this. But at the moment we are definitely merely “surviving,” not “thriving” in Costa Rica. I truly hope that changes at some point. But in the midst of an overwhelming adventure, sometimes all one needs to do is survive. And that’s what we’re doing at the moment.