Back to School...

Hello Everyone,

As our Central America adventure nears its end, we are experiencing a string of awesome trips with friends and family. Last week we returned to Costa Rica after over two months of adventure in Nicaragua, and met my mom at the airport the next day. We then drove to Monteverde, Costa Rica, where mom took spanish classes for the week, and the three of us had a great time.

The main joke of the week was "Nina and Paul practicing their parenting on mom." The night before the first day of school, mom pointed out that she didn't know how she would get to the school since it is out of walking distance. We chimed in, "We'll drive you, of course!" We were amused by the concept of the two of us taking my mom to school and picking her up everyday. On the first day of school, we made sure to leave the house with time to spare, and we documented the occasion thoroughly (see picture below). All week long we practiced our parenting on mom, and now feel adequately prepared to take our own kids to school someday.

With mom in classes every morning, we saved all our exciting activities for the afternoons. The first day, we visited the Monteverde cheese factory, which was founded by quakers and is the longest running business in Monteverde. We learned the entire process that they go through to make their cheese (which is not entirely appetizing) and at the end we were able to sample various cheeses produced at the factory. Our tour guide was a friendly guy named Ronald who moved from Wisconsin, and is now giving cheese tours in Cosa Rica. Needless to say, he likes cheese and knows more about it than anyone we've ever met.

Tuesday, we went on a nature hike over beautiful hanging bridges in the Monteverde cloud forest. However, we saved the most extreme activity for last. Wednesday afternoon, Nina and I were somehow able to talk mom into going on the "Extremo Canopy Tour." There is something in the Banks family genes that is immediately skeptical of anything with the word "extremo" in it, but luckliy mom is very open-minded and adventurous, so it didn't take much convincing at all. The canopy tour has fifteen ziplines, ranging in length and height. The longest runs nearly a kilometer, and is really, really high off the ground. I'm not sure how high you are precisely, but it feels like you are an eagle soaring over a huge valley. Cows, farms, and trees look like little dots below you, and it is probably the closest you will ever feel to flying. I am happy to report that mom was able to overcome all her initial anxiety and take flight. I'm not sure how much she "enjoyed" it at the time, but she has since reported that her appreciation of the experience grows with each passing day!

Other than mom's spanish school and our awesome afternoon activities, we mostly relaxed and enjoyed amazing food. Mom also quickly reverted back to her type-A student ways, and studied her spanish lessons vigorously in the afternoons and evenings. I think that she might have become slightly addicted to Costa Rica, and I would not be surprised if she comes down for another round of classes at some point in the future.

The day that we dropped her off at the airport, we immediately picked up our friend, Paige Blake. The next day, Kathy Rowings flew in, and I am happy to report that we are successfully into the last leg of our trip, which I like to call, "Paul and the girls," or "Paul listens to much giggling," or possibly, "Paul in danger of growing a uterus." Stay tuned folks, as our next post is bound to be interesting...

Now, pictures!

Dropping Mom off on the first day of school. She's not even crying!:

Silliness at the cheese factory:
Watching the cheese process:

Showing our dignified side as we sample cheeses:
Mom and me:
Looking at wildlife from the swinging bridges:


Sunset from our beautiful cabin:

Nina ziplining:

Me ziplining:

Mom after the last zipline, very happy that she made it through alive:

Mom and her spanish teacher:

A pretty hummingbird:

Thanks for checking in! We will be back in the USA soon!

Paul and Nina