We departed Monteverde today and headed back to the coast to the final destination on our Costa Rica trip, but before we settled into the three-hour drive we made one more stop in the mountains, visiting the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens.
Our guide Kieron was immensely patient as he explained some of the native fauna to Miles, even as the our child persistently interrupted with questions (the most frequent of which was, “Do this bites?”).
The highlight of the experience was likely having the opportunity to release some brand-new butterflies into the garden to flit about and what have you.
After the butterfly gardens, we started our drive to Tamarindo. A brief stop for lunch revealed that Miles was in desperate need of both food and rest, but the latter had overtaken the former and he quickly became belligerent and inconsolable. For instance, upon learning that he had received a burger that was exactly as he had requested it, he became so incensed that we had no choice but to leave. Fortunately he fell asleep following a lengthy rant about why he didn’t like the burger, although he thankfully took a few bites of it nonetheless.
And just as we arrived in Tamarindo, a town LOADED with foot traffic, Miles awoke and immediately said, “Let me tell you why I don’t like that burger! The mayonnaise–“
“Miles, are you $#@&-ing kidding me right now??” I said as I tried to dodge pedestrians and aggressive drivers on a road built out of potholes. “You’ve been asleep for three hours, and THIS is what you open with?”
Thankfully our rental is fully covered, and we arrived at our destination within a few nail-biting minutes. And by the time we got to dinner, Miles was back to his old screwball self, taking advantage of Jaclyn’s “whole fish” meal in the only way a four-year-old could be expected to.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 