COSTA RICA
Christmas Between the Beach and the Volcano
I land in San José, grab a rental car, and we immediately start doing what road trips do best. Turning the country into a sequence of landscapes.
Costa Rica is supposed to be the Switzerland of Central America, and I will be honest. The first surprise is realizing it is still very much Central America. Not in a bad way. Just in a real way. The roads and infrastructure are not what you expect if you are picturing Switzerland. It feels closer to Colombia than some glossy travel fantasy.
Guanacaste: All Inclusive Christmas
We drive to Guanacaste, the northwest corner on the Pacific, and check into the Riu resort. It is all inclusive. It is easy. And for a family trip over Christmas, that is exactly the point.
I wake up and see monkeys around the property. One of those moments where your brain goes, okay, yeah. We are not in the U.S.
We spend days doing the resort rhythm. Food, pool, beach, repeat. No pressure. No plans that have to work.
Horseback Riding on the Beach
One of the highlights is horseback riding along the ocean.
Mom gets annoyed because they put her on the calmer, smaller horse. She is offended because she grew up on a farm and does not want the beginner horse. It becomes funny fast, because it is such a Mom moment. Proud, capable, immediately wanting the bigger horse.
At some point we swap around, and the whole ride feels like that perfect travel balance. Scenic, slightly chaotic, and full of family personality.
The Eco Hotel Near the Volcano
After Guanacaste, we move inland and stay at an eco hotel with a volcano view. The kind of place where the air feels different and everything is greener, wetter, and calmer.
There is a big hot spring style pool situation at the hotel, like a natural feeling thermal escape. It becomes the place you end up at the end of the day when your legs are tired and you are just grateful to be warm.
We meet up with Anna and Priscilla, and it turns into that travel feeling where plans merge and suddenly it is a bigger group again.
Suspension Bridges and Masks
We go into the national park and walk the trails and suspension bridges, and the whole thing is marked by the era. Covid.
We are masked in photos. We are not posting anything. The pictures are good, dramatic even, but we are conscious of the moment and how it looks to the world. It is strange now looking back, because it freezes the trip in time.
Costa Rica, Looking Back
Costa Rica for us is not a wild itinerary. It is not a nonstop adventure story.
It is Christmas warmth, monkeys in the trees, horseback riding on the Pacific, volcano air, and that very specific feeling of traveling during a moment when the whole world was watching travel differently.
And somehow, that makes it even more memorable.