Good Times with the Garza's: Christmas on the Costa...Costa Rica, that is!

One of the perks of being a teacher is the great vacation time! I am allotted two weeks of vacation for Christmas, and this year I was able to spend nine, warm and sunny days with my family in Costa Rica.

On the first night, dad, Cin, Devon and I had the chance to visit my host family from my study abroad program. I lived with David, Ana, little Mara Jose and Diego (not pictured) for a semester my junior year of college. They were wonderful to me and were excited to have me back in their home.

Dad rented a car and we drove to Mt. Arenal, one of seven active volcanoes in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, Tashina is not in this family photo. She arrived a day late due to an incident with her passport, later resulting in my father yelling, “that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” over the phone once we realized she had missed her flight. Don’t worry, we all missed her, especially Michael.

We enjoyed an easy hike along the base of Arenal with our tour guide, Jason. He referred to us as “my friend,” as he pointed out interesting plants in the rain forest. Later, we stopped at a site along a river, just as dusk was setting. We were able to see lava spewing from the top of the volcano. My camera was not able to capture the lava, but I must say, it is one of the most beautiful things of nature I have ever seen.

The next day we drove back to San Jose to pick up Tashina from the airport before we drove down to the Caribbean Coast. Michael was so excited to see her and was probably somewhat relieved to have here there as it was his first time spending a period of time with our family. He’s a real trooper!

We spent the remainder of our vacation in Puerto Viejo…