In early May 2021, Dan and I welcomed two very important visitors into Costa Rica. Two of our sisters! My sister, Kendall, and Dan's sister, Janine, visited us around the same time and we had an incredible time exploring Costa Rica together. Here's a glimpse into our time together.
Janine was the first sister to arrive. She flew in on May 1st. We picked her up from the airport and we greeted her with two big hugs! Then, we drove the two hours back to Esterillos Oeste. On the way, we stopped for lunch at one of our favorite Costa Rican restaurants. We also stopped at the Tarcoles Bridge to see all of the crocodiles happily soaking up the sun in the river below. Once we were back to our AirBnB, we changed into suits and headed down to the beach immediately! Afterwards, we had some dinner and drinks to celebrate the start of an unforgettable trip!
Janine was working remotely during the week she visited which worked out well with Dan and I's work schedule. The following two days, we worked and then went out for some adventures. We took Janine surfing to our favorite spot and although the waves were crazy, she was a natural! We hiked to El Miro which is a beautiful, abandoned mansion that overlooks Jaco. On the following day, we took Janine to one of our favorite hikes- The Rainmaker. It's a beautiful hike through the jungle with suspension bridges, waterfalls, and natural pools to swim in.
On Tuesday, May 4th, Dan and I made the trip into San Jose to pick up Kendall! Kendall recently returned home to Illinois from Alaska where she was working with AmeriCorps for the last year. It had been over 9 months since Kendall and I last saw each other. I never want to go another 9 months again without seeing my best friend again. After we were reunited with Kendall, we headed back to Esterillos Oeste. We made the same stops on the way back that we made with Janine including the restaurant and crocodile bridge! Then, once we put Kendall's luggage back at our AirBnB, the four of us took the boogie boards down to the beach to have some fun!
Next, on Wednesday, after we had all finished work, we had ourselves a beach day! We went down to the beach in Esterillos and set up a great spot for a few hours. We had a lot of fun again boogie boarding, swimming, relaxing in the sun, and a couple of us even climbed some palm trees! Dan and I took our sisters into Jaco for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants- Hola India!
On Thursday, we headed south to Manuel Antonio National Park! Dan and I had been here once before and had the best time. We knew we had to bring our sisters here. While there, we hiked different trails, swam in the beautifully clear ocean, and saw many animals! We saw not one but three different sloths! They were absolutely adorable. We also saw white capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, many lizards, and more! On the way home from the park, we stopped at El Avion. El Avion is a restaurant with an airplane that overlooks an incredible view.
For those that don't know or remember, I traveled to Costa Rica for a couple weeks in January 2016 on a study abroad trip with my school, Harper College. Craig Stettner who is the professor who led the trip, quickly became an incredible mentor of mine. I took a zoology class with Craig the following year at Harper as well. Other than academic studies, I joined him on bird walks and forest restorations in nearby forest preserves. Sadly, we lost Craig in December 2018. I have never had a better teacher than Craig and I can only imagine what a lasting impact he has had on all of his students. He is deeply and dearly missed. I am so grateful for all that he has taught me but perhaps I am most grateful for his love for Costa Rica. He showed me what a beautiful country it really is.
Since my trip in 2016, I have stayed in touch with Gustavo and Katherine, a lovely couple who own the field station we stayed and did research at for the last five days of our trip. It is a magical place deep in the rainforest, many acres away from others. When I knew Dan and I would be living in Costa Rica for a few months, I reached out and asked if we could visit. Once we knew our sisters were planning on making a trip, I thought it would be the perfect place for the four of us to go to together.
On Friday, May 7th, the four of us drove to San Ramon. A taxi that was going to bring us from San Ramon to the field station met us at a parking lot where we said goodbye to our little car for the weekend. After all, there's no way it could have made the journey to the field station. We piled in the giant four-wheel drive truck and said goodbye to internet connection as we made our way into the jungle. Once we arrived, we were greeted with a rain storm and big hugs from Gustavo and Katherine! It was so good to see them after over five years. We enjoyed a delicious lunch cooked by Katherine and went on an educational hike led by Gustavo. Then, we hung out at the field station and got caught up. After dinner, we were all ready for bed.
On our full day at the field station, we went on an all day hike to a river. We stopped along the way to swim and explore a new natural swimming hole Gustavo recently found. It was picturesque- blue morpho butterflies flying around the green jungle. Once we made it to the river, we swam and explored more! Kendall loved letting the strong current take her through the rocks! We sat in the sun and dug into our packed lunches- we were starving! Afterwards, we made the hike back to the field station and stopped at the swimming hole one more time. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was hiking the trail that was recently named the "Craig Stettner Trail". He loved the field station and that trail so much. He brought students there twice a year for many years. The rest of our time with Gustavo and Katherine was amazing. We are so grateful for everything they did for us that weekend.
The day we left the field station was also the day that we had to say goodbye to Janine. We dropped her off at the airport and then headed back to Esterillos. Once Kendall, Dan, and I got back we took a very, very long nap. It was much needed. The last two days that Kendall was in Costa Rica we took her surfing twice! She was amazing, a natural like Janine! She got up on the first try and rarely fell off. We also went on the hike to El Miro and to the Rain Maker.
Overall, this was a once in a lifetime trip and I'm so grateful to have shared this experience with Kendall, Dan, and Janine. Thank you so much for visiting Ken and Jan. Joanne, Wes, and Lucy- we'll get you out here someday soon! Love, Niki
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