McDougall Adventures

Costa Rica McDougall Adventure February, 2009

Thank you for the best time ever! Now that I am home I cannot warm up. It was nice being warm all the time from the warm Costa Rica sun, and from the warm hospitality of the Costa Rican people and the fellow McDougall travelers. I had a great time and recommend this trip to anyone seeking a hassle free vacation, great lectures on health and nutrition, and a way to have some fun and meet wonderful people. I will be back! Thanks Tiffany for being such a great neighbor. Wishing you all the best.

Until next time. Jo Ann

Thank you so much for the wonderful trip to Costa Rica! I've never been on a tour before (thought they would be restrictively over-planned), and really appreciate all the organization that went into these seven days. The ability to repeat trips, to just stay at the resort, to go into town in the afternoons - all personal variations I wouldn't expect from a tour and you could supply it all. Bless Tiffany! You, the staff, drivers, and guides were all wonderful. The food was excellent and abundant, and I was pleasantly surprised to find I had lost 5 pounds even after eating to maximum capacity all week! What a place; I hope to return with you in the future.

All best, Jonna Allen

Dr. McDougal's Costa Rica adventure trip had been recommended to us by friends who had participated a couple of years ago. Now, we too will recommend the program. We needed to get a jumpstart on having a more healthy diet and the trip to Costa Rica did it. The great buffets, evening lectures and tips from other participants were the boost that we needed to make the commitment. We expected to have fun on the adventures but we were delighted to make some wonderful new friends.

Michele Harrison

Thank you so much for doing this trip. It was a great way to get away to a beautiful place, and not have to think about what we want to do and what to eat. Often, when we travel, we sometimes have to put some work into our meal plans. The food was great, and always guilt free. The "adventures" were very well planned and so well organized. We certainly enjoyed the zip-line canopy tour. To see all the wild life in nature was incredible. I especially enjoyed seeing the 1-day-old baby turtle working it's way into the sea from the beach. The best part of the whole experience for us , though, was meeting the other travelers, from all walks of life. Talking with them, hearing their amazing stories of their journey to health from disease. How their lifestyle changes brought back health. As a physician, I truly believe that what Dr. McDougall teaches is the best medicine for a long, active, and healthy life.

Larry & June Cohen

My husband Steve and I thoroughly enjoyed our McDougall adventure. We loved everything. Costa Rica was just incredible...the adventures were fantastic...all the fellow vacationers, wonderful guides, staff and the people of Costa Rica were warm, fun, and friendly, and the food was delicious. I had to talk my husband into going on this trip. Even I had no idea what to expect. I had been reading McDougall literature for about 5 years...and I've been vegan for over 6 years (hubby Steve for 2 years)...but not a "McDougall" vegan. Well, we really had such a great time that we are now McDougalling" our diet at home. We are hoping some residual health issues may improve. Only one small suggestion...we would have loved to take home a Costa Rican McDougall recipe booklet. Thank you Dr. McDougall, Mary and Carol for helping make our Costa Rica trip smooth, enjoyable, and informative, and just plain terrific.

Arlynn Bottomley

Thanks so much to all of you for a wonderful week! Larry and I are grateful to have had the opportunity to vacation somewhere with wonderful weather, interesting places to visit and things to do, excellent guides and staff, a group of fun people, and good food that we didn't have to worry about eating! All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable time! You really had everything so coordinated and organized. We just had to decide what we wanted to do and show up! Even if you didn't do anything, just sitting around and taking in the incredible views was extraordinary! I truly hope we have the opportunity to join you again.

Carrie Kaysen and Larry Slane

I had been thinking about going on the Costa Rica trip for several years and finally decided to just do it. I have not regretted it one bit. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and met many wonderful people along the way. It was more than what I expected and very well organized. I didn't have to do a thing except get up and start my day with a wonderful breakfast, an adventure full of fun, delicious lunch, informative lecture and enjoyable dinner with really good entertainment. There was even time for some souvenir shopping and relaxing time by the pool overlooking the Pacific ocean. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I now have the travel bug and am thinking about my next trip.

Lynn Harper

I would like to thank John and Mary McDougall and their staff for a fantastic time. The Feb.2009 trip to Costa Rica far exceeded my expectations. My wife and I had a wonderful time. Costa Rica is such a beautiful country especially in the area in and around Ocotal Beach, which yielded wonderful views. The entire time was so well organized, planned, and carried out. Everything during the entire trip went so smoothly. Schedules were provided detailing each day events. Each event occurred on time and as described. The daily schedules including the daily activity, three meals and lecture still left enough down time to relax and enjoy the idyllic surroundings or do whatever one wanted to do. The accommodations consisted of the first class El Ocotal Resort Hotel which was very comfortable and beautiful. The staff was very attentive. All the planned activities (ocean snorkeling, river rafting, horseback riding, hiking and zip-lining above the tropical forest) were very exciting and enjoyable. The guides took care of all our transportation needs. They were extremely safe and also provided us with knowledgeable, informative, enjoyable commentary on the plants, animals, people and history of Costa Rica. They were very responsive to their audience’s requests and needs. The food provided was Costa Rican fare following Dr. McDougall’s guidelines. Hence it was consistently healthy, very tasty, and abundant in quantity. Dr. John McDougall’s lectures were very informative, well supported, very motivating and life changing for us. Even though both of us were already vegans we will both incorporate valuable changes in our diets that we learned from these lectures. John and Mary McDougall were both very accessible, approachable and very interested in getting to know all the attendees. We also met a number of wonderful and very friendly people also attending this adventure. All in all this vacation was indeed the best vacation we have taken. We both will highly recommend this vacation to our family and friends. Thanks again to the McDougalls and their staff for putting together such a great vacation!

Steve Bottomley

Considering that it was our third trip to the Costa Rica event, we found it even more enjoyable and beneficial. The outings continued to be top-rate, due in large part to the friendly and enthusiastic expertise of the guides. Your talks were informative as ever, worth listening to again to reinforce our commitment to the life style you recommend. Also very important to us was the opportunity to meet with people of diverse backgrounds and share our experiences of how we came to know the McDougall program and how it was helping us. All in all, a great experience. We look forward to more.

Beth and Hugo Martinez

My adventure to Costa Rica was a vacation enhanced by all the wonderful people I met. Everyone was so kind and fun to be around. We were all so unique, but bonded in the quest to health and wellness. It was a trip that inspired me to be a better ME!!! I am happy to say, "I am cooking simple (lowfat) meals that taste great". A special thank you to Tiffany who worked so hard to make this an effortless VACA...and all the tour guides who kept us safe while entertaining and educating us in beautiful Costa Rica. Missing all the MONKEYS...

Teresa

I loved sitting in the grass by the infinity pool, overlooking the ocean, while being entertained by the resident lizards and iguanas. The guides were extremely knowledgeable on a variety of topics and entertaining as well. It was wonderful to have a winter getaway in the sun and warmth with all of the arrangements for transportation, activities, and healthful food made by a dedicated staff of McDougall associates.

Peggy Henry

The trip was an outstanding adventure!! The adventures I most enjoyed were the tree canopy zip line and the riverboat trip. I thought that if a child can do the zip line then I can too. After all the questions that were asked I began to wonder if this was for me. When I read the brochure about the zip line I decided that this was for me. (time to move out of the old comfort zone) It was really wonderful and fun! I am so glad I did it. The riverboat-rafting trip was wonderful in another way. It was so peaceful and calm. Our guides pointed out so many things that we would have missed if they had not been there. Marcel, Hugo, Dennis and Carlos were excellent and made the adventures educational and enjoyable. They were a big, important part of our trip. Most important to me was to have Karl hear your talks and eat the food. He did really well, stayed on the diet and didn't eat in town. I appreciated being able to ask Mary questions about some of the recipes. Her suggestions have worked for me. Karl and I both enjoyed talking to Tiffany. The setting was breathtakingly beautiful. I took movies so when the weather is grey outside I can relive the beauty on my computer. Some thing else that I really liked was having the music after dinner. It sounded great, was fun to dance to and also kept people at the tables talking. The stories we heard about how peoples' lives have been changed are worth more than gold. The proof is in the pudding (tofu of course). I think Karl was very impressed by what he heard.

Sally Barnum

Thanks so much for a great introduction to Costa Rica. We all had a really great time and met some wonderful new friends. Liz and I had a really great time the 4 extra days that we stayed. We met lots of very friendly and helpful people. One person that stood out was an eco-tour guide that was recommended to us by the rental car person who delivered the car. We had a really fun and interesting day with him at several different places.

Thanks again for a great trip. Lisa Saabye, DVM, MBA

Hi Mary and John: Thanks for the email. Both Ron and I had a wonderful week in Costa Rica and came home with many marvelous memories. We both felt the guides and their tours were the highlights of the week. They knew so much about the area and the animals, birds and plants and also about their history and culture. We learned so much about Costa Rica and will certainly love to go back again. We are doing fairly well with our diet and we are constantly trying new recipes and managing not to have the foods that are not good for us. We do sometimes slip a little. Thank you for your informative lectures. I have read the China Study recently and found it very enlightening. Maybe it should be required reading for medical students. Thank you again for your wonderful hospitality.

Elaine Anderson and Ron Barr