The trip from San Jose to Bocas Del Toro when we first arrived was long but easy. We were on a fairly empty, air-conditioned bus and had quick transfers. The trip back to Costa Rica from Bocas Del Toro was not easy. We woke up at 6:15 a.m. to finish packing and be out of our Airbnb by 7 a.m.…
On our last day in Bastamente started as an easy day. We were packing, finishing laundry, doing school work and other work. Before lunch, we hiked up to the little school on the hill. It was summer vacation when we were here. The school year is from March to November. We were told that the school is for grades K-9…
Day 4 in Bocas Del Toro started out rough. There were yelling and negativity from the start. The kids were whining about doing school and begging to watch. Henry took forever to get ready to go. We locked ourselves out of our Airbnb. Lucas, Henry and I (Judy) went to check out a small island that and ended up getting…
Day 3 in Bocas was a zero-day for us. We only left the house to go to the grocery store. The boys did school in the morning and we played cards and had some screen time in the afternoon. Zero days are critical for us since we are now traveling long term. I (Judy) did laundry. We have a cute…
On Day 2 in Bocas Del Toro, we hired a boat with a Dutch family staying near us that we met the day before. They have two boys ages 4 and 2. We set out around 9 a.m. with our boat captain Maya. He planned a great day for us. Our main destination was to Zapatillas Island. The first stop…
Our first night in Bastimentos, we made pasta and fell into bed exhausted. At 4 a.m. I (Judy) awoke to the sounds of roosters. It sounded as if they were singing in my ears. Bastimentos is rarely quiet. Birds, dogs, music, people. The island is alive. The day after we arrived at Bastimentos Island we walked around. The part of…
The journey from San Jose to Bocas Del Toro was keeping me (Judy) up at night for weeks before our trip. We could have taken a plane. We could have hired a private or shared shuttle that guided us to Bocas Del Toro and helped us through immigration. We chose to find our own way and it worked out perfectly.…
Touching down in San Jose, Costa Rica was exciting. This is the family’s first international trip since we rented out our house. Right out of the gate we left one of our suitcases at my sister’s house and had to go back for it. We have 4 backpacks and 2 suitcases, so it is disconcerting and embarrassing that we left…
What do you do when you beat cancer for the second time, and you are turning 40? You go to Disney World! One of the first stops on our long-term travel journey was Disney World. We conquered six parks in nine days with nine people, the youngest being 3 years old. Planning the trip was overwhelming with the Disney App,…
The perk of traveling while other kids are in school (in the low season) is a bonus of worldschooling. Last week we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We walked on to Hagrid’s roller coaster without waiting. I rode the Mummy with my son Lucas 5 times. The kids rode Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges 15 times (Henry…