Where They Went: Costa Rica

WINTER WELCOME: They flew into San Jose, where the driver theyhad arranged for online was waiting for them. "The mountains were very different," Mattern said. "We left New England in February, but there it was green and warm. It was hot, but never unbearable."

THE REAL THING: At the recommendation of friends, the family first stayed in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. "It's on the Caribbean coast about as far south as you can go before you hit Panama," Mattern said. "You take this potholed dirt road to get there. You'll see tropical plants, hibiscus, and then a trashy pile of metal. It's very funky, not polished or touristy at all. I didn't want to feel cut off from how people live. Years ago, Jamaicans were brought in to build a railroad, and this is the part of the country where basically the only black people live. We could always hear a reggae backbeat where we were, and people were smoking pot."

FRIENDS IN THE AREA: There were mostly international tourists and some English-speaking ex-pats, Mattern said. "It's a tiny town, but there's a Waldorf school," she said. "A former colleague moved to the area with his family a year and a half ago and we spent quite a bit of time with them."

JUNGLE LOVE: "We went to a really beautiful rain forest preserve, Gandoca-Manzanillo. A friend told me she saw as much wildlife there as in all of Costa Rica," Mattern said. "The town is very community minded. They have their own little nonprofit that connects tourists with local guides. I read about it in 'Lonely Planet.' The book said ask for a rain forest tour with Tino. He was just amazing. We were out with him for five hours. He could hear white-face monkeys way, way up in the trees."

SPOUTING OFF: Leaving the coast, they went to La Fortuna in the Arenal volcano area, a more touristy area. "Instead of $45 a night, the rooms were $80," Mattern said. "It's the most active volcano in Central America. We were really lucky because we got to see it. Some people go for a week and never see it because it's always cloudy. On the north side where the lava flows are, at night you can see the lava glow down the mountain. We ate dinner where we could see it, and the place we ate lunch at, you can see the steam."

TREETOP TOUR: "We went on a canopy tour," Mattern said. "That was a blast. They sell it like you get above the rain forest, but it's really just a bunch of zip lines between the trees."

SPIRITUAL CONNECTION: Before leaving San Jose, "we wanted to connect with the Jewish community," Mattern said. "There's a Reform temple there. I thought it was going to be all in Spanish, but the rabbi was from New York and the prayer book was trilingual."

To see more photos of the Mattern-Schains' trip and other reader vacation snapshots, visit www.boston.com/wheretheywent. Send story ideas to ddaniel@globe.com.