As the weekend approaches, all I want to do is pack a picnic lunch and make a beeline for Tapantí National Park. It’s in the Orosi Valley just east of San José, easy to get to for a low-key day trip, and equally great for serious nature lovers and for kids who just want to walk for 10 minutes and then take off their boots and splash in a river.

For some reason, I’ve been there only once in all these years, but will soon remedy that oversight.

Wishing all of you a green and splashy weekend.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! Each month in 2020 has a monthly theme, and February’s is marriage equality, so scroll back through the month to see several posts highlighting people and organizations working on behalf of this issue in Costa Rica.