By Kylie Brunelli
Coco McGrath is hiking with a group of people in Costa Rica. They are surrounded by trunks of giant Mariabes and Protium Panamenses, which form oval, olive-colored leaves in a canopy above their heads. Here, cicadas vibrate constantly and birds chirp, screech and twitter. Everything is highly regulated in its vibrancy and individuality. On this trip, Coco has already seen poisonous cane toads (which are beige) and a bright green-black poison dart frog.
The group continues walking for a few more minutes until they reach a gap in the trees and everyone stops, admiring the view of the turquoise water and the tiny islands in the distance. It’s hard to believe that this is the same Pacific Ocean as the one in Aptos. Someone takes a photo with their phone and then the group continues on.
Deep grunts come from the trees. They sound too throaty to come from a toucan or a macaw, and Coco realizes that it is a howler monkey. She tries to see it, but it is perfectly camouflaged. Someone points to a tucumã palm, in whose leaves clusters of reddish fruits are hidden. These are apparently part of the diet of the howler monkeys and are also edible for humans. Coco decides to try one later.
By the end of her trip, Coco had seen countless birds, sloths and lemur-like coatis. She had enjoyed drinking Costa Rican coffee, which is world-renowned for its earthy flavor and high quality. And while crop yields in the U.S. were declining in December, she had eaten papayas, guavas and other delicious fresh produce.
Coco McGrath
Back home in Aptos, Coco is a travel advertiser for her own company, Travel by Coco. Previously, she was a teacher and coach. When she reached the end of her career in education, she traveled often, which made her really happy. While coaching, she was part of a franchise that supported her with company resources and clients. She liked the balance of entrepreneurship and structure, so she joined Cruise Planners, a top travel company.
With Cruise Planners, she has access to deals and amenities not available online, as well as support and compensation from Cruise Planners. Therefore, “it costs customers nothing to use a knowledgeable travel advisor,” despite cliches saying otherwise.
Coco has also experienced great disappointment when unavoidable events force cancellations without compensation. For example, when people lost thousands of dollars on hotel reservations in the Italian Alps or on Mediterranean cruises in the summer of 2020. She has made a ton of phone calls and emails on behalf of her clients to make sure they get their money back or receive travel credits. She even had random people call to ask if she could help them reclaim their travel losses, which was difficult because they hadn’t booked with her agency and so she couldn’t fully advocate for them.
Star Clippers cruise from Panama to Costa Rica
She “had to cancel an entire year” because travel was too dangerous. Fortunately, business has recovered due to pent-up travel demand and customers’ thirst for adventure. And she’s not just planning cruises. Right now, many customers are going on safaris in Tanzania and Kenya or visiting Bryce, Zion, Arches and other national parks in the US.
Coco says multigenerational travel is very popular right now, with families becoming closer through family reunions or trips through Italy and France. Many of her clients are interested in taking their family on a genealogical expedition. On these trips, researchers help locate the exact home, school and cemetery of the family’s ancestors and put them in touch with a local expert for an authentic experience of the area and a more complete picture of the past.
She is currently busy planning many trips for next August, including a river cruise in the Douro Valley with a local winery, a group tour of Ireland, solo travel for women, small group trips and more.
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You can visit their website at TravelbyCoco.com.
Dolphins in the Caribbean
TOP PHOTO: Sunset in front of the Pearl Islands
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