One of My Top Three Vacations Ever

My volunteer program in Costa Rica was one of the three best vacation experiences of my life. The response from the community was incredible -- we ate lunch each day in someone's home and we got to help prepare the meals. All our meals were delicious, varied and well-prepared. Community members even opened their homes to us on Christmas. My fellow volunteers were a delight and even joined me on an early morning birding trip in the cloud forest where we hired two local birders to guide us and point out amazing birds and butterflies. The trip was well-organized in every respect and we were able to complete the project that had been planned.