Barretts in Costa Rica!

One of the highlights of the last couple of months has been, by far, having my parents here for a visit! It was their first time in Costa Rica, a place they have been hearing about since the 90's when I first went after college. They have heard every single story about Tacotal and the community of friends and family we have created here. They have heard about the jungle, and the river and beaches... All of it. And we finally got to share it with them in person! It was a short trip, only 6 days, but we filled it with lots of adventure. Maybe at times, a bit too much:) But we'll save that story for later. 

The first day here we took it easy and stayed local. I took them up to our favorite spot just up the hill, Buen Camino. Adam and I hike up to this place a few days a week. The view is awesome and the batidos, delicious! 

After a delicious brunch, we drove out to Tacotal so that they could finally see the farm. It was a really sweet visit and our friend Humano gave them a tour of his lot and project, Finca Vida Verde. We then walked down to Adam and I’s lot, which at this time is just a really beautiful piece of jungle:) That’s my momma walking towards the huge stand of black bamboo that welcomes us home.  

After the quick farm tour that day, we drove out to pick up the kids at school. My parents got to experience the ride we used to do twice daily taking the kids back and forth to school. They’ve since started taking the bus, but it was nice to show them the beauty of that ride. The kids were so excited for us to pick them up!

The following day I took my parents on a rather epic adventure. There are no pictures for the rides we did that day. But my mom was hooting a whole lot (those who know her know what she does when she’s nervous about heights:) and I honestly ended up taking roads that were even a challenge for me,, and I’ve now seen a whole lot of wild driving here. It was so fun to see their reactions and also to pretend I was fully confident as to where we were headed! 

Our main destination that day was the town of Sarchi. We first went to a beautiful botanical garden called Jardin Else Kientzler.  Kate and Joe were here during the rainy season so the gardens were so lush and amazing. 

The succulent gardens were incredible! 

We wandered the gardens for a long while, enjoying the wildlife and the amazing variety of plants we encountered. We left the botanical gardens and stopped in town for some lunch. We dropped by the worlds largest oxcart which is a national symbol for Costa Rica. Traditionally the oxcarts were used to transport coffee from up in the mountains to the port towns at the coast. 

During this time, we happened upon Fabrica De Carretas Eloy Alfaro, which for 120 has been making the traditional oxcarts that continue to be sold in the country and are well known around the world. During the high season here, they see thousands of tourists at the factory. We were one of 8 people who happened by this day. And we happened to walk in just as they were starting the tour to describe how the factory began. It is still owned and run by the same family, one of the son’s of Eloy Alfaro still manages it to this day. 

The carts from Fabrica de Carretas Eloy Alfaro are each handmade using traditional techniques. The table saw that has been used for decades is powered by a water wheel on the side of the property 

We left Sarchi after having great lunch and took a wild back roads way back into our valley. The roads were sooooo steep. The only way to drive down them is to put your car in low, or the lowest gear you can. Slow to a stop, often, then let fully off your brakes so you don't burn them out. The roads are windy, wild and dangerous. The view incredible. It's a whole trip! My parents were awesome, just hanging on for the ride. What a cool experience to have with them. 

The next day I took the kiddos and my parents to Playa Mantas. Adam had hurt his leg pretty badly at this time so he was at home recovering, with some peace and quiet:). The day was beautiful. The funny thing is that I forgot that I read that the monkeys are NOT afraid of humans at this beach. 

So my parents first monkey experience was that of me running up the beach to chase a monkey out of my bags. It had stolen a whole bag of chips and was eating it while looking right at us from 5 feet away. Then his buddy stole it, so he sat sulking. 

We stopped at Carara National Park on the way back home to see some huge Seba trees and other species that tend to make you feel so tiny:) 

The whole time my parents were here felt like such a gift. A gift to have them see these places that we have spoken about for years and to share it all with them in real time. We ended our last day with a beautiful sunset at a restaurant up the mountain from our house. I feel so very lucky to have gotten to play tour guide with them for this trip. My parents are so easy going, and even with all the literal ups and downs we had going on at the time, they rolled with all of it. The rains, the roads, the wildness of living in the jungle. They are truly the best and the kids, Ad and I are lucky to have them.