TODAY WAS SCHOOL PICTURE DAY!! We’re trying so do some normal things at the 5 Adventures Academy (our name we picked for the school) and what’s more normal than sitting the kids in front of a blue background and snapping a photo for posterity. We’re still on the distribution list for our hometown PTA andContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 16”
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Boquete, Panama; Day 15
We have mentioned in a prior post or two how our weather in Central America at this time of year seems to provide morning sunshine and afternoon showers. Also mentioned is that we have oriented our school days so that we are indoors and focused on studies in the afternoon so the weather doesn’t interfereContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 15”
Boquete, Panama; Day 14
A quiet day of school and afternoon rain. Dad got to do the first part of his Panama Canal unit. In keeping with that theme, art was making origami boats and sailing them in the pool. As school ended we had another power outage. It was only for about an hour though so it didn’tContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 14”
Boquete, Panama; Day 13
Dad had wanted to get in two 6-day school weeks during our Boquete stay knowing that upcoming travel may make school difficult to deliver. He had thought that this wisdom had prevailed upon all of the other Adventurers when school was held on Saturday but was thwarted by the entire Road School student body whichContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 13”
Boquete, Panama; Day 12
Despite our nice setting nestled in the mountains of Panama, we’re not too far from the Pacific Ocean so today’s adventure was the Las Lajas beach. Brian and Tiffany managed to turn a 1.5 hour drive into a 2.5 hour drive to get there. We were stopped at a light and were considering whether toContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 12”
Boquete, Panama; Day 11
Despite it being a Saturday we made it a school day so there were no big adventures today. We did finally take a few pictures of our AirBnB house and our ‘yard mates’ for lack of a better description. The house itself is one story, three bedroom/two bath and about 1,800 square feet. It hasContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 11”
Boquete, Panama; Day 10
Two adventures were noted today. Neither were particularly high on the ‘noteworthy’ scale but are shared with you nonetheless. The first took Brian to the local hardware store to find light bulbs. The rental house is equipped with LED bulbs which are of an intensity and in the color range appropriate for the Cook CountyContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 10”
Boquete, Panama; Day 9
Our group went to “downtown” Boquete this morning prior to school. Dad found a charming little coffee shop while Mom took the other kids shopping for something special. She’d seen these bracelets at the shops on Tuesday and decided she wanted some as souvenirs. She let each kid pick one out- Suaram picked the green,Continue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 9”
Boquete, Panama; Day 8
Today was more of our routine (with the power on thankfully). It was Suaram’s turn for a date with Mom this morning. Before the pandemic their typical date would be mani/pedis at the local nail salon but the last time they did that was in February 2020 – until today that is. With masks on,Continue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 8”
Boquete, Panama; Day 7
We’ve been in Boquete nearly a week and must be settling in since we were visited by our old friend. Yes that’s right, today started with a power outage. We think it started around 3am and everything was still dead when we got up in the morning. This house has an electric stove so noContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 7”
Boquete, Panama; Day 6
The start of the “road” school week for the kids included the introduction of a writing assignment. The kids were provided some topics and options to prepare and present their work. CreeperPuppy chose to put his work into this travel blog which you can find in the Kids Corner page. We have decided to holdContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 6”
Boquete, Panama; Day 5
Today was a lazy Sunday here in Boquete. The sun was shining brightly this morning but we spent time inside doing some online adventures. The kids FINALLY convinced Mom and Dad to join them in a Minecraft world. It was hosted by Suaram and titled ‘Suckers’ which seems pretty appropriate. Tiffany started building a houseContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 5”
Boquete, Panama; Day 4
Today marks 3 months since these 5 Adventurers started our world travels. It feels like we’ve been traveling forever and at the same time it’s passed in the blink of an eye. We decided to go down to the Parque de la Amistad so the kids wouldn’t be on tablets all day. As it turnedContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 4”
Boquete, Panama; Day 3
Tiffany & Brian have wanted to find opportunities to dedicate themselves to the attentions of a single kid at a time. This has been difficult while traveling when we are always together in a common conveyance or accomodation. When Brian’s mom (Busha) comes to visit she will schedule time during her visit for an afternoonContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 3”
Boquete, Panama; Day 2
Today was mostly about getting organized for our multi-week stay in Boquete. We started the morning off with breakfast at our new favorite Va&Ven. Unfortunately they didn’t have any breakfast sandwiches so instead we had empanadas again. They’re better for dinner, but at least we got a little fuel to get our day going. AfterContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 2”
Boquete, Panama; Day 1
Today was a travel day from the tropical, sunny Caribbean up the mountains to a lovely house a few minutes outside the city of Boquete. We lost 15 degrees of temperature and gained 1,800 ft in elevation. We crossed the Continental Divide and said goodbye to the Caribbean since we don’t know when we’ll seeContinue reading “Boquete, Panama; Day 1”
Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 3
We knew that there were beautiful beaches and locations in Panama, especially in this area of the country, so we decided to hire our favorite Bocas driver Julio to take us out to one of them. We had met Julio on our first day in Bocas and appreciated his willingness to meet our version ofContinue reading “Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 3”
Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 2
We are staying in Bocas Town which is the most populous location in the entire archipelago of Bocas del Toro. We wanted to take advantage of our central location so today we chartered a boat from town and went on a snorkel safari. Our captain today was Alberto and he took us out to theContinue reading “Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 2”
Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 1
We made it to Panama! Whew! Sometimes adventures can be exhausting. We had an option to fly from Costa Rica to Panama- from San Jose to Panama City. But our first stop in Panama was planned to be the island archipelago on the northwest coast called Bocas del Toro. It’s only about 3 hours travelContinue reading “Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 1”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 6
Today is our last day in Puerto Viejo and it’s also our last day in Costa Rica. We arrived 37 days ago and spent our first two weeks in school. We swam in the Pacific, the Caribbean Sea and in a few waterfalls. We were all amazed by the green sea turtles and the horsebackContinue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 6”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 5
A short post for a quiet day. The adventurers stayed close to home with the kids reading and making up games with their cuddles. The plot included many paper snowflakes so we are enjoying a bit of pretend winter here in the tropics. We did a little shopping. It’s amazing how fast clothes tire outContinue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 5”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 4
Today’s main adventure was a morning Chocolate tour – an activity where you see the process from the cacao bean to the chocolate we know and love. Or at least that’s what we tried to sell the kids. Cacao was one of the major crops in Costa Rica until the 1970s when a fungus killedContinue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 4”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 3
We all enjoyed the horseback riding adventure from a couple weeks ago and wanted to try it again. Perhaps this time on the beach! We had seen some beach riding in Tamarindo but didn’t want to pick some random horses offered to any gringo walking on the beach. Tiffany did some research and we pickedContinue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 3”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 2
After yesterday’s travel day we relaxed a little this morning. We all found the sleeping tolerable with no air conditioning. Still more hot and humid than we prefer but we got some sleep even with the howler monkeys doing their thing close by. We added a picture showing our two part house. Kitchen/living room/bath andContinue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 2”
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 1
Today was primarily a travel day as we left Tortuguero by boat and then car for the town of Puerto Viejo on the Southeastern coast. This is our last destination in Costa Rica. It’s reputation is that it has a Caribbean vibe, great beaches, great food and good weather in September, not an insignificant factor.Continue reading “Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; Day 1”
Tortuguero, Costa Rica; Day 3
We woke up still excited about last night. We watched a Green Turtle lay about 100 eggs in the sand on the beach – That was AMAZING!!! We all agreed one of our favorite parts was watching the turtle go back over the beach to the Sea. She was so heavy and awkward on landContinue reading “Tortuguero, Costa Rica; Day 3”
Tortuguero, Costa Rica Day 2
Today started at 5:15am. We were supposed to be waking up to a 6am canoe adventure in the rivers of the National Park. Instead, we were greeted with thunder, lightning, heavy rain and no power in our hotel. We considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but weather changes quickly in Costa Rica soContinue reading “Tortuguero, Costa Rica Day 2”
Tortuguero, Costa Rica; Day 1
We do have Wi-Fi access! We were pleasantly surprised our family hotel room has Wi-Fi access, it was advertised as having three full sized beds, air conditioning (a luxury we splurge for) and a shower. Hot water is still TBD and wifi was supposed to be a no, yet here we are. Today was aContinue reading “Tortuguero, Costa Rica; Day 1”
La Fortuna, Costa Rica; Day 3
This was one of our Costa Rican days where the adventures were wonderful, diverse and may not fully translate to the blog (but we will give it our best shot). We took all these great photos today. Costa Rica has fully embraced environmentally conscious attitudes about many things. For example, the country has relied onContinue reading “La Fortuna, Costa Rica; Day 3”
La Fortuna, Costa Rica; Day 2
What a day! This is the first time visiting Costa Rica for the 5 Adventurers. It’s a popular destination because it’s natural ecology is appealing (volcanos, beaches, tropical forests, waterfalls) and also because it has built a reputation for outdoor adrenaline activities. Ziplines, horseback riding, rappelling, ATV riding tours, hiking, scuba and snorkeling etc etcContinue reading “La Fortuna, Costa Rica; Day 2”
5 Adventures Together 