It was Costa Rica, a vision of crowded, colorful houses and flat tin roofs caked in flaky, thick rust, and hillocks of kaleidoscopic litter cascading down the dirty streets. It was the sun, the blistering rays of hydrogen and helium particles, or perhaps it was the paint, the dewy fluid of banana and honey hues. Whatever it was, we were all aware of the change coming gradually upon us.
We were in Upala, Costa Rica: fifteen or so teenagers in a canton in the province of Alajuela, equipped to serve the native Costa Ricans. I can only speak for myself, but my nose was lifted a little higher than it should have been. I came to Costa Rica believing that the native Costa Ricans desperately needed me, that I would somehow drastically change their lives. No, no. I was served a sublime slice of humble pie. I desperately needed them. They drastically changed my life.
A Costa Rican pastor led us to his church—a turquoise, one-room building of cement walls and tin boards. The desolation of the church was alleviated by the radiant attitudes of the church members. They lived a life in sincere peace, despite their decrepit circumstances and limited opportunities. Every part of their bodies—their eyes, mouths, and mannerisms—overflowed with genuine love and happiness. It was haunting. It was surreal. I walked into the church and at the first glance of the exterior building, assumed that I was better than them. I adorned myself in a cloak of superiority, and the illusion of an authentic concern for them was my mask. The thing that I did not know was that my mask was similar to one created by botulinum toxin; its purpose was to conceal flaws, but it ended up appearing even more false.
The amazing thing was that they saw right through me. They knew that I felt this way, but they still welcomed me with open hearts.
After two days of spending time with such hospitable people, we were given the task to paint the walls of their church and outdoor bathroom. All my preconceived notions and delusions of them were stripped away. No feelings of “I’m-better-than-you” or “I-am-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-your-life” existed anymore. The cement walls that we were painting over were emblems of my prior feelings. Goodbye, cold, raw, ugly walls. Goodbye, arrogance. Paintbrushes immersed in banana paint stroked and spattered the walls. Hello, warm, refined, beautiful walls. Hello, humility.
Costa Rica impressed upon me that the world is big and life is hard. Still, the earth continues to spin and revolve, the sun sets and rises, and people smile and rejoice. They are able to radiate with smiles indicative of happiness in spite of unfortunate situations. And I was the one looking down on them? Funny. I realized that we are all the same: we feel pain, we enjoy bliss, and we understand love in different ways. Unity exists despite diversity.
I needed them. The process of reverse-botox was no easy or painless operation. Mark my words: it hurt. But they opened my eyes to the social discrepancies of a different country and the astonishing perspectives of a different people. I was disillusioned by the banana paint and the blistering sun and crowded Costa Rica: impoverished regions exist in the world today. But if they needed me—for what reason? I do not know exactly. Maybe they needed me so that I, in turn, would show others that we can no longer be complacent with ourselves. We should not choose apathy over empathy. We are all connected.
And emotional botox is ugly.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
Hey Maggie, I really appreciate your innovative traveling ideas. You have covered so many adventurous places. Waiting for some new destinations. Please keep posting.
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Game Lover
It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
Hi Maggie,
You always share to the world with something new and different destinations. Thank you so much for sharing.
The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Great destinations for First Night and New Year’s Eve! Check out our favourite ones in Europe: https://tapsy.blog/?s=new+year%27s+eve
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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I enjoyed reading your Italian family vacation story, and thank you so much for these tips. This surely gonna help us achieve a stress-free vacation in Italy. Great blog!
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
Wow, great!!! it could be a great fun out there.
very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
nice article, i also read about Celebrate Christmas Eve 2018
Aloha!
I would like to add my baby equipment company, Nana’s Baby Equipment. I serve the entire island of Kauai with aloha!
Mahalo,
Sharon Hackleman
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]