by Pennie Sempell
Vacations are a wonderful thing. On that we can all agree. Summer is a few months away, but it is not to soon to start a conversation in your family about a place where you would like to go to share ‘down time’ and genuine quality time together. Since my children were young, I took them to many campgrounds in the United States and travels to foreign country.
I recently took a vacation with one of my grown children. It was a no-frills trip to Central America’s South Pacific. February in the states is summertime there. My readers may enjoy this first blog that I wrote:
“I sat in the communal kitchen of our hostel in Manuel Antonio, near one of Costa Rica’s most famous national parks. Framed by banana trees and coconuts, I looked over the Pacific and heard the distant sound of crashing waves. Monkeys chased each other in the ravine below. Guests began drifting in for their morning coffee – from college age to seniors – all out for adventure and relaxation in the hot January summer. Belgians, French, Swiss, Germans and a few scattered Americans made up the mix. Holidays for EU citizens are longer and at times of the year not familiar to most Americans.
I like to travel simply, a small pack, a few changes of easy-wash clothes. I enjoy the spontaneity of having no reservations in advance, perhaps a vague idea of when we will head where, and figuring it out as we go along. On this trip, we slowed down and, after befriending some locals, headed back into the coastal mountains on impossibly rough dirt roads.
An hour ride in the back of a 4WD pick-up gave my organs a good massage, I assure you. Along the road, colorfully dressed indigenous Panamanians carried large woven baskets filled with red coffee beans, just picked from the bushes hanging precipitously on the sheer hillsides. Dropping almost vertically, I nodded my head in respect for these sure footed people who risk their lives, it seemed to me, to earn a dollar an hour. My Pete’s coffee grounds will never look quite the same to me.
We swam every day in the ocean, the warm rivers, and the pool. The heat left every muscle relaxed. Along with a refreshed mind, this holiday brought me a wealth of insights into the everyday life.”
Pennie Sempell is an integrative health therapist and wellness educator who works with children and adults of all ages and needs. Pennie has taught preschool in Washington, D.C. and California, and directed an aquatic fitness program for children. She has earned numerous professional certifications in mediation and peer counseling, research-based mind-body therapies, and traditional healing art therapies.
Visit her new site for FREE resources: www.healthierhappierlife.com
Vacations are a wonderful thing. On that we can all agree. Summer is a few months away, but it is not to soon to start a conversation in your family about a place where you would like to go to share ‘down time’ and genuine quality time together. Since my children were young, I took them to many campgrounds in the United States and travels to foreign country.
I recently took a vacation with one of my grown children. It was a no-frills trip to Central America’s South Pacific. February in the states is summertime there. My readers may enjoy this first blog that I wrote:
“I sat in the communal kitchen of our hostel in Manuel Antonio, near one of Costa Rica’s most famous national parks. Framed by banana trees and coconuts, I looked over the Pacific and heard the distant sound of crashing waves. Monkeys chased each other in the ravine below. Guests began drifting in for their morning coffee – from college age to seniors – all out for adventure and relaxation in the hot January summer. Belgians, French, Swiss, Germans and a few scattered Americans made up the mix. Holidays for EU citizens are longer and at times of the year not familiar to most Americans.
I like to travel simply, a small pack, a few changes of easy-wash clothes. I enjoy the spontaneity of having no reservations in advance, perhaps a vague idea of when we will head where, and figuring it out as we go along. On this trip, we slowed down and, after befriending some locals, headed back into the coastal mountains on impossibly rough dirt roads.
An hour ride in the back of a 4WD pick-up gave my organs a good massage, I assure you. Along the road, colorfully dressed indigenous Panamanians carried large woven baskets filled with red coffee beans, just picked from the bushes hanging precipitously on the sheer hillsides. Dropping almost vertically, I nodded my head in respect for these sure footed people who risk their lives, it seemed to me, to earn a dollar an hour. My Pete’s coffee grounds will never look quite the same to me.
Pennie Sempell is an integrative health therapist and wellness educator who works with children and adults of all ages and needs. Pennie has taught preschool in Washington, D.C. and California, and directed an aquatic fitness program for children. She has earned numerous professional certifications in mediation and peer counseling, research-based mind-body therapies, and traditional healing art therapies.
Visit her new site for FREE resources: www.healthierhappierlife.com
