traveloehrs

“Dada, a little blood is not going to stop me from doing new things. I’ll be alright.” Junebug deadpanned to me. My concern transformed into relief and a little pride as Junebug brushed it off. “I’m going to run over to Mama and the Ploops” she said. I smiled as she bounced off in their direction.

Our month in Costa Rica flew by and we were taking the drive back to San Jose slowly to accommodate my beat-up mid-section. We decided to revisit Uvita which was one of our favorite stops along the way. The Airbnb we were staying at recommended we check out Playa Ventanas and the caves right on the beach. The headland has 2 caves that are covered at high tide. At low tide the caves are dry and as the tide comes back in waves break into the caves until they disappear under water once more.

As luck would have it, low tide was lining up perfectly with sunset the day we were there, so we gave it a go. The kids had a blast dodging the oncoming whitewater and hearing the roar as it came rushing through the caves. The headland also had lush jungle with monkeys and birds calling out loudly. Junebug found a vine that was shaped perfect for swinging. She was getting a running start and swinging through the air…precariously over a rock shelf of course. I urged her to be careful repeatedly.

After a few minutes of her swinging and me fruitlessly cautioning her, she fell directly onto the rock ledge. I cringed, held my breath, and hoped for the best as I hobbled over to her. “I’m fine!” she assured me right away. I double and triple checked to make sure since her knees were bloody. That’s when she hit me with, “Dada, a little blood is not going to stop me from doing new things. I’ll be alright.”

On the way to Ireland, I noticed the scabs and bruises on her knees. I asked her how it felt, and she gave me the thumbs up. I followed up with, “Are you excited to go to Ireland, Junebug?” She smiled at me and said, “I can’t wait to go explore a new place!”