I recently returned to Israel from my first Elderhostel outing- a wonderful and adventurous 12 day visit to Costa Rica. For those if you who are not familiar with the concept of Elderhostel, it started out as educational trips, using campus facilities that were vacant during the summer months. Over the years, the program has expanded, and they now use hotels, lodges, boats, and probably other facilities in which to travel, trek and teach. There were 16 active seniors in my group, and I was the only one that did not come with a partner. However, we ate all of our meals together, and the participants were warm and curious about my life in Israel, and we all had a wonderful experience.

The trip was advertised as Energizing Mind and Body, and was more active than other ventures for people that do not want to hike, kayak, raft, snorkel etc. We covered six hotels and lodges in 12 days, had lovely weather and plentiful food and really received a wonderful overview of Costa Rica. Toward the end of the trip, we settled for two days into a spa, and received two treatments included in our fees. One of my treatments was a black mineral hot mud wrap, something that I have never done before and probably will not do again and the other was a delicious massage. It was so nice not to have to pay extra even for these little bonuses.

I have registered for another Elderhostel trip to the Greek Islands and will give a review upon my return.

Bettina in Jerusalem