voyagevixens.com

Before attending the University of Pisa in 2009, my Italian grandmother Nonna proclaimed that I would only receive her buon viaggio blessings if I wore a hat, sunglasses, and SPF 1,000,000 sunscreen at all times of the day and night. Besides, Nonna’s demands essentially required that I purchase a giant floppy sun hat and oversized retro sunglasses à la Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Most of all I loved meeting my grandmother’s family and connecting with my Italian roots. Whereas other people had made me feel like I had no right to even call myself Italian, this woman assured me that my ancestors treasured their soft, pale skin.

While on vacation in Costa Rica, VV contributor Lindy Tolbert witnessed the fragile and exciting wildlife at the Sloth Institute, a non-profit research and conservation facility for sloths in Manuel Antonio. The backstory: Tulemar donated the sloth conservation areas where TSI was able to set up a research lab – basically a 20-foot shipping container – and release sites. Researchers at The Sloth Institute hand-raise, release, and track sloths to discover their behaviors and habitats. The walk itself isn’t actually all that long, maybe a mile or two at most, but the hills of Tulemar are quite steep, so most of your time will be spent scaling the hills and squinting up into treetops.

For more tips on changing time zones with kids, check out advice from Family Vacation Critic. Don’t count on managing a family in a hotel room and planning a day’s activities at the same time. When kids get cranky, you won’t want to waste time getting back to your hotel room. Most parents prefer hotel suites or vacation rentals so the kids can sleep in one area while the parents stay up.

Make sure to visit the Baby Natural Bridge and Natural Pools, a natural geological walkway carved out craggy coral rock of by erosion. It’s a bit of a climb, but you don’t need to take the tour to get a phenomenal 360-degree view of the island. Monday – Saturday 2 a.m. – 2 a.m. Neighborhood: north of Hooiberg Also known as the Pilgrim’s Church, the Catholic Alto Vista Chapel is a quaint yellow and brown chapel that blends into the desert landscape until you walk inside and are greeted by a cerulean altar to the Virgin Mary. Additionally, visitors have begun building cairns, or little rock stacks, just outside the ruins, and while the practice is officially discouraged as it disturbs the natural habitat, I have to admit it is really beautiful to see a sea of cairns flooding the landscape.