I recently took a trip to Ithaca, NY and the Finger Lakes area, which is stunning. My favorite activities and areas from the trip were visiting the vineyards and wine tasting (though I learned, don’t go for reds there), swimming in the gorges below picturesque waterfalls, and visiting Sapsucker Woods Preserve, renown for its rich avian wildlife. (Below is a photo of a scarlet tanager I took there!)
I never used to be interested in birds and wildlife, until I started vacationing in Costa Rica with Jorge in the years before we were married. I guess when you grow up around certain species and they’re a part of the landscape you know from birth they seem a bit mundane and ordinary. But when I started traveling to Costa Rica, my eyes were opened by all of the new (to me) stunning birds! Parakeets, parrots, new types of water birds, toucans … everything started to really get me excited.
Now, when I come back to Ohio and other parts of the US, I see all of the birds that had been there around me with new eyes. I marvel at the beauty of a bright red cardinal, blue jay, yellow gold finch, flying blue herons, and on and on. I see new species that had been there before me all along and never noticed, and I see these other birds I had known about with new eyes.
Sometimes traveling is wonderful for the new things, people, experiences and places you discover. Costa Rica certainly has it’s share of fantastic adventures, wildlife and rich experiences for me, that I’m still collecting every day I’m there. But the sometimes the unexpected thing that travel can give you is a new perspective on your own home, your own life and your own values. Seeing something new can change your perspective on what you once believed was old and routine.
Come to Pura Vida House, travel to Costa Rica with us, and we hope we can help you create new and wonderful experiences and perspectives, and who knows, maybe we will learn a little something new from you too!
Pura Vida,- Stephanie Morera & Jorge Morera
