Boldly Go Solo

Last minute solo adventure trips

I heard on the radio the other morning that hotels in New York are offering terrific deals on rooms. One such deal was a rate reduction to $100 from $500. In that case, I won't complain about the fact that two people pay the same rate as one. Sorry I don't have more specifics about the hotels, but if the idea of treating yourself to a trip to New York is appealing, call around. And negotiate!

Or how about a last minute deal on a trip to South Africa or Vietnam or the Amazon? G.A.P. Adventures has a page of last-minute deals. I need to look at these last minute sites more often.

Because G.A.P.'s trips are inexpensive, I'm guessing their customers skew young. These are not your luxury trips. But that's fine by me. Just get me on the river or the hiking trail.

I particularly like this line in the description of a 15-day trip to Costa Rica: "Hitting some of Costa Rica's best natural highlights, this 15-day tour provides ample opportunities for hiking, horseback riding and swimming."

Wish I could go! But there are only so many vacation weeks in a year...

 

Surfing, stretching or salsa-ing in Spanish

Whoa, slow down calendar. I've got vacation days piling up and no vacation planned. Meanwhile, I'm only allowed to carry over five days into next year. There is nothing worse, in my mind, than wasting vacation days by taking off and staying at home...not that I've ever done it. 

When it has come to planning vacations I've made rash decisions. Spur-of-the-moment ones. Off-the-wall ones. But never have I let vacation days wither on the vine. At least, not for an entire week.

The vacation idea that formed in my head about a week ago, and has been solidifying since, is a trip to Costa Rica or Guatemala to take Spanish classes. I wrote about my brother's trip to Costa Rica but now I think I want to do something different. That is, ever since I landed on the AmeriSpan Study Abroad Web site.

I'm intrigued by their offerings. Not only is it a one phone call type of vacation, which I often relish, but the site has a category called "Language and Fun."

For example, if I choose Costa Rica, I can combine Spanish with surfing, Spanish with yoga or Spanish with digital photography at Jaco Beach, a premier surfing beach. What a great idea! Especially for a "want-to-order-two-things-and-share-them-because-I-can't-decide-and-I-want-to-taste-both" type of person like me.

Learning the "sweet Spanish" of Costa Rica in a fairy tale setting

You get off a plane in San Jose, Costa Rica, and get picked up by someone who has been expecting your arrival. You are driven to Santa Ana, "the most beautiful little town," and meet the family you're going to live with.

The day classes start, you are driven up a mountain to go to the school class. It's a perfect 70 degrees up there every day. The Spanish you learn is "very sweet." That is, it's simple to understand and learn.

This is how my brother, Michael, describes his two-week Spanish immersion program in Costa Rica with Centro Linguistico Conversa. Now I'm thinking of going.

It surprised me that he chose to do it. Spanish was his worst subject in school. He's a skilled numbers guy who works in tech and has taken a fair number of accounting classes.