Episode 9: Las Catalinas
Sometimes, I just need to lay around. I love travel, and seeing/exploring new places and things; but every once in a while, I just want to sprawl out on a beach and do absolutely nothing. I can be perfectly content getting to a patch of sand near sunrise, draping a towel over a lounge chair, and laying there motionless and listening to waves break on the shore until sundown. When I was in between sessions at school, and Michael and I would travel to Europe for a few weeks at a time, we always interspersed big bustling cities with quiet, peaceful beach towns. The occasional sedentary reset was always a necessity, and I still crave it now.
And I may be able to actually relax and do nothing on a beach some day, if my husband and I find the time to escape on our own. But, travel with our kids has been the norm lately, so now on beachy vacations I just try to do as close to nothing as raising and vacationing with two rambunctious pre-teens will allow. Which is not anywhere near close to nothing… but it’s what I get!
At the end of the kids’ school year this year, I was needing a beach escape. And I knew the boys were leaving their elementary school, and all of their close friends, to start at a new school in the Fall. So, I wanted to make sure that they were able to have fun with good friends, at the same time that I was making an effort to lounge in the sun. We ended up booking a trip with one of the boys’ good friends from school and his parents (who are also our friends), along with a couple and their kids who we are close friends with (and who are great Texas Dental Specialists patients as well).
We went to Las Catalinas in Costa Rica, which is a no cars allowed, well-planned community about an hour away from Liberia airport. The “town” is centered around two long crescent shaped beaches with calm surf, and is surrounded by hiking and biking trails. There were grocery stores, shops, and restaurants; water activities like kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and jet skis; and a beach club right in the middle, with three pools, a hot tub, and an always open bar.
We had two main adventures while we were in Las Catalinas. The first was going zip lining with Diamante Eco Adventure Park. They had 5 different zip line stations, one of them known as The Superman. Probably because at almost a mile long, it is one of the longest zip lines around; or because riders get up to 60 mph as they rocket down the wire; or maybe just because you ride it like superman, head first and face down. After the adrenaline, we explored the animal sanctuary on the property, which had a large number of jungle cats, a few sloths, and a whole lot of monkeys. And then we went to their local beach for a little body surfing.
The other adventure was hiring a boat, operated by Ocean Life Costa Rica, to take us down the coast. We spent about 6 hours hopping from cove to cove, alternating between snorkeling, floating on rafts and paddle boards, and watching the kids (and some of the adults) leap from the upper deck of the boat into the water. The boys enjoyed their bottomless supply of virgin cocktails, and the adults enjoyed their bottomless supply of not at all virgin cocktails. All of which culminated with a beautiful sunset view as we motored back to the harbor.
The rest of the time, though, was spent relaxing. Much of it was at the beach club, watching the kids wrestle in the pools, teaching them to dive, and never letting them win a race in the lap pool. Any time not at the club was spent on one of the two black sand beaches, watching the kids dig holes, play stick baseball, or float in the ocean. But one of the best parts, as a parent, was letting the 5 kids go off on their own to have fun together, and explore the town while feeling incredibly grown up and independent.
All in all it was a great escape. The friends, for both the adults and the kids, all really enjoyed each other’s company (which isn’t always the case, as people who have traveled with varying friend groups can probably agree!). And even though I was never able to fall asleep to the sound of the surf, nor did I ever find the time to immerse myself in a book, I came home rested and joyful anyway.