We are in the mad dash to the final days of prepping for our trip to Costa Rica. There are still a few days before we go but I’m anxious about forgetting something important. I’m also fretting about what to wear which should not be such a consideration – what’s more important, having a great time with my family or looking good? Preferably both.
I’ve researched and re-researched the climate we’ll be going into. I’ve scoured videos and blogs for lists of what to bring. There are also different kinds of Costa Rica vacations. We are doing less the beach kind and more the jungle kind. I looked at all the hotels we’re booked into and found one place we’ll be staying for two nights doesn’t have a hairdryer. This was mentioned in many of the Trip Advisor reviews so it was also important to other travelers so I don’t feel so vain.
My mind keeps replaying a trip Jim and I made to England many years ago where I didn’t bring a hairdryer and for the most part everywhere we stayed had one. The London hotel did not and that was also the least of our problems with that place. The fact that we had to run out and purchase our own toilet paper was a much bigger problem. But I digress. When I look back on our pictures of this truly amazing trip – it was the number one place I wanted to travel to from when I was young – the thing that stands out for me is how FLAT my hair is. So that’s why whenever we travel, I try to be sure there will be a hairdryer or I will bring one.
The nice thing about Costa Rica is they use the same electrical outlets we do so I can just pop one in my luggage. I don’t know why I’m getting stuck on this seemingly insignificant detail and Jim rolled his eyes when I told him there was a place, deep in the jungle, without hairdryers. But it’s the pictures. I don’t want a scrapbook of flat hair!
Also the clothes. I am not a fan of the exercise, hiking attire look for myself. I feel dowdy or something. I decided to buy a few moisture wicking tops but they decidedly have very little flair. And the L.L. Bean hiking pants, because they said we need long pants for some of the things we’re doing. I’m keeping the tags on just in case I don’t need to use them because it was a rather expensive purchase for something I might not use again. I ended up getting a couple of cute looking tops so I’m not always looking like I’m about to go on a run.
The other thing I stress about is the temperature. I really hate to be too hot or too cold (doesn’t everyone?) so I want to be ready for any weather. Does it get cool at night? Some say yes. Is it super hot and humid? Some say yes. Will it rain? Better be prepared. Will I run out of clothes? Maybe. Will it matter in the end? Probably not. I was also worried about wearing a hat because of my hearing aid that is attached to my scalp behind my ear. I bought a jungle type hat but it was too big so I took an old baseball cap and cut a hole around where my hearing aid goes. I will probably just try to work with that.
You may say this is pretty trivial. We are going to a foreign country that will be full of adventure, beauty and cool wildlife. I just have a certain style that I want to keep to. And when I look back I’ll probably be thinking how silly it was to worry. To worry about packing the right stuff and the kind of clothes I wore. That’s just me.
At the end of the day, I might make a little youtube video of my packing because I find those type of videos very helpful, myself. Most of the videos I found were geared toward beachy Costa Rica vacations so this one will be more about visiting the jungle, zip lining, horseback riding and such. We have a couple of GoPro’s so we’ll be able to capture all aspects of the trip.
I Am Writing 