Peru > Colombia > Costa Rica: A New Years Family Trip, Part 1

Hi there,

It has been a while! Time to get back on the writer’s block, or better said, off it…

Since my last entry (which I cannot even track on the page anymore, I am a disgrace of a writer!) we have traveled a lot, seen many places and our kids have grown. Edie is now halfway 9 and Noa is 5,5 already. Time indeed flies…

Let me begin with our last trip. December 30^th we flew from Buenos Aires to Lima, the start of an 8-week trip that took us through Peru, Colombia and Costa Rica.

2012 had been a strange year for us; it was hectic, unpredictable and kind of tough. In other words, we were happy to leave it behind and celebrate New Years Eve in Lima, starting a fresh new 2013.

First lesson: make sure to get some rest during the first part of your trip… old lesson actually. I remember my dad and mom having it out in the car on the first days of our annual vacation trips to France, so nothing new, but still as present as it was then. Both parents and kids usually have a busy period right behind them and the first days of the trip are bound to be a bit bumpy. Our week in Lima was relatively quiet, spent in the house and company of our very good friends and former neighbors, Hans & Yvonne. 

Of course we could not resist going to our office a few times, but we managed to relax enough and apart from Karin’s ribs (she fell off a horse during one of our outings only a week before we took off) causing her some sore moments, the week passed relatively uneventful. New Years Eve was one of the more quiet ones in my life as well, which suited me fine; after having spent the last 22 years going at 150mph, I kind of begin to like the quietness of things. We were 10 people in total, had dinner on the deck, then shot some fireworks off of the roof terrace, had some fun conversations, smoked many a cigar, and I think we were all in bed by 2am. I cannot remember a new years day waking up as relaxed and rested as I did this year.

We traveled with 250kg of luggage, as we have decided to move to Costa Rica later this year and wanted to already forward some of our stuff there, so we had made sure to travel business class (which if you play it right almost pays itself back in baggage allowance) and arranged for transfers into and out of every airport and hotel during the entire trip up till San José. That was a wise move, as traveling with 2 kids, 8 large suitcases & 6 pieces of hand luggage can be a bit of a challenge. As was proven when we tried to leave Colombia, but more about that later.