At Puerto Jiminez airport, in the Costa Rican rainforest, a customs officer pushes a fresh, green coconut into my hand.

No tough questions about “the nature of my business” in his country – just advice. The milk in my coconut, he says, is pure enough to be used as plasma in an emergency situation, and will cure me of everything from club foot to flatulence. The Costa Ricans are No 1 on the Happy Planet Index – even their customs officers like a laugh.

But the Happy Planet Index is about more than a sense of humour. It ranks countries according to their ecological footprint – and Costa Rica is one of the most sustainable countries in the world. It follows a development model that tries to deliver “good lives that don’t cost the Earth”, and when the customs officer drops the empty coconut into the recycling, he’s happy to know that it will end up as matting or insulation. He’s clearly “on-message”.

The airport at Puerto Jiminez is the gateway to what National Geographic magazine calls “one of the most biologically intense places on earth” – Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Because of the abundant rainfall, and the short dry season, it is ridiculously green. Apart from the fig trees, and the scarlet macaws flying in pairs, it could be the South Downs. At the end of a single-track road, fit only for a donkey, lies 1,000 acres of lowland tropical rainforest – the Lapa Rios nature reserve.

The Lapa Rios Ecolodge is one of the top resorts in Central America. But maybe “resort” is a little misleading. The 16 private bungalows don’t have a chocolate on the pillow – summer temperatures reach 95F (35C) – or air conditioning. To save energy, there’s no television, telephone or tea/coffee facilities in your room and there’s only one power point to recharge your mobile and computer.

The Ecolodge ideal takes some getting used to. But not as much as the noise of the rainforest. The howler monkeys are the loudest of the land animals and, once the wall of darkness descends, they’re also the most terrifying. I was in an isolated cabin, and all that protected “them” from “me” was a thin net gauze. Whenever I turned on the lights – ugly, blue, low-wattage lights – the mosquitoes came. So I used a torch. On the first night, when I switched on my torch, a huge cockroach scuttled across the floor. I’m not proud to admit, I trod on it.

Everything looked better in the morning, as I showered on my balcony, and viewed the magnificent rainforest. A hike made sense of it all – it made me feel like a traveller, not a tourist. I found a tree that was 300 years old, and shades of blue and green I never knew existed. I even saw a howler monkey. The “terrifying” creature was actually small, furry and cute. By the time I returned to Lapa Rios, I was getting in touch with my own personal rainforest.

From the explanatory paragraphs above the water-free urinals, to the daily tours to the lodge’s biodigester, Lapa Rios sells its sustainability message very successfully. The kitchen waste used to be turned into compost in a wormery – until the pigs ate the worms. Now the pigs eat the kitchen waste, too, and turn it into their own waste, which is then fed into a biodigester and turned into methane. The team want to make methane, but there’s not enough kitchen waste – the food is too good.

This is a surprise, for the chefs aren’t professionally trained. They are farmers and maintenance men, recruited from the community. Not normally something you would shout about, but employing locals makes Lapa Rios more sustainable. They still can’t find local fishermen to provide a regular catch, so they are forced to bring the fish from San José – frozen. But everything else, from the chayote to the yucca, is resolutely local.

By day three I had totally “got it”. Lapa Rios heated my water with solar panels, and provided me with all the biodegradable shampoo I needed, but I still had responsibilities. The Earth still needed protecting. I was on holiday, but I separated out my waste and refilled my water bottle. And I started to enjoy a different way of being. I would lie in my hammock and watch birds. By the third night, I was ashamed for treading on that cockroach. And I found myself humming “Circle of Life”.

Every night they laid on entertainment. Sustainable entertainment. It was either a local artisan selling home-made soaps and shampoos, or one of the hotel guides, cataloguing all the local flora and fauna. There were slides of everything from the Jesus Christ lizard (which walks on water) to the Fer de Lance snake (with a poison that turns human tissue into soup in minutes). It was enough to guarantee that, by the next morning, the guests all switched from short to long trousers.

Guests do more than pay lip service to sustainability. They plan their holidays around it. Many are under 40, university-educated and self-employed. They are yuppies-plus – yuppies with leg room. And, according to the figures, they’re not alone. The latest data suggests there are now 50 to 60 million people out there who want to travel guilt free. Which is good news – the idea of sustainability is finally sustainable.

And the market for sustainable tourism is growing. To judge by the reservations book, Finca Rosa Blanca has found a market, too. The “resort” (see above), in the central Highlands of Costa Rica, is less isolated than Lapa Rios and overlooks the capital of San José. But with tours to the waterfalls, volcanoes and misty cloud forests that surround the plantation, the Finca Rosa Blanca message is clear – tread lightly on the planet.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat well while you’re doing it. They say you don’t need a time check in Costa Rica – you set your watch by the arrival of the rice and beans. Rice and beans are the national dish, and if they’ve been fried in oil and mixed with onions, it’s breakfast. If they’re served with fried plantains, it’s lunch. And if they arrive with meat and a small salad, it’s dinner. But at Finca Rosa Blanca, the chef is a bit more imaginative than that.

He offers guests a tour of the market in San José. The road from Finca Rosa Blanca snakes down through the suburbs, where people lock themselves away behind heavy metal grilles. It’s only 20 kilometres (12 miles), but after the calm of the plantation it’s a shock to the system. In the noise of the market, vendors sell horchata, a cornmeal drink flavoured with cinnamon, and linaza, a restorative linseed drink used to cure indigestion – probably caused by chan, which has the quality of mucus.

To a European tourist, the drink feels very different. And so does the food. Whether it’s the zapotes, oversized avocados with bright red pulp, or the guanabanas, the green football-sized melons with fibrous flesh, the fruit and vegetables in Costa Rica have a Willy Wonka quality about them. The country’s native cuisine…read more

Medical tourism companies, doctors, hotel managers and tour operators piled into the Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura for two days, touting Latin America’s medical tourism benefits from the industry’s most popular site, San José.

But on Wednesday, the last day of Costa Rica’s second-annual Medical Travel Summit, organizers opted for a change of scenery. Carloads of attendees headed to the northwestern province of Guanacaste on Tuesday night. There they received a four-hour tour of the Papagayo Peninsula, including Marina Papagayo, an elegant Four Seasons Resort and also a newly constructed CIMA hospital.

“This is an opportunity to involve different areas of Costa Rica in medical tourism,” said Massimo Manzi, executive director of PROMED, a company that promotes medical procedures in Costa Rica. “Until now, the [Central Valley] is just having the benefits of medical tourism because this is where the hospitals are.”

The excursion was an opportunity to promote a growing Guanacaste, which has new medical facilities, an expanding airport and a sprawling 900-hectare retirement community under development, called Sun Ranch. Even as the tour took place, a new luxury hotel, Sol Meliá Paradisus Resort, announced plans to open in Guanacaste in 2013.

The trip helped flaunt Guanacaste’s glossy future to medical tourism leaders. It also showed potential tourists what Guanacaste is not – San José.

Costa Rica’s grubby capital remains the leader for medical tourism in Central America, with its state-of-the-art hospitals and U.S.-trained doctors. But Guanacaste hopes for a share of that market. And for an obvious reason, industry insiders think it’s possible.

“Let’s face it,” said Jerad Portner, marketing director for Sun Ranch. “If you have the choice to go to San José or the choice to do the same exact work by the same top professionals and you’re a 15-minute drive the from the beach, I think it’s a pretty easy decision to make.”

Guanacaste’s medical tourism push highlighted the three-day Medical Travel Summit. The congress hosted more than 40 international speakers, 150 companies and nine countries from North and South America and Thailand.

Dental clinics outnumbered the rest of the booths at the conference. Medical suppliers, plastic surgeons and bariatric doctors also promoted why those looking for cheap, quality medical service should head to Latin America.

In 2009, 30,000 medical tourists visited Costa Rica. Almost all of them received their treatment in San José, and patients recovered through vacation packages that took them around the country. The medical tourism industry brings in $60 million annually to Costa Rica, and the projected figure for 2011 is a hefty $100 million, according to PROMED.

If Guanacaste can become the next medical tourism hotspot, the number will continue to rise. The key to the region’s growth will be a cutting-edge $125 million CIMA hospital opening in the fourth quarter of 2011 (TT, Jan. 29, 2010).

CIMA hospitals are international medical facilities built in underserved parts of the world. Both locals and foreigners are treated at these hospitals. Approximately, 5,000 medical tourists were treated at the San José branch in 2009, Manzi said.

Joseph Barcie, president of CIMA Centralized Services, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, in the U.S., emphasized that a contemporary hospital can help develop a city. He pointed to the current CIMA building in San José, for example.

“When CIMA San José was built, around that entire hospital was nothing but fields and grass,” Barcie said. “Now, 12 years later, Escazú is a hub and they’re still building.”

He imagines the same type of growth in Guanacaste in the next decade. Nearby, in the province’s capital city of Liberia, the Daniel Oduber Airport is adding a new terminal. The airport continues to add direct flights to the United States, making it easier to fly in and arrive at a hospital that’s less than an hour from the beach. Other hospitals also have tentative plans to build in Guanacaste.

One hospital already settled in Liberia is adding a new…Read more

Costa Rica Accommodations

Costa Rica Realtor Scott Cutter in Manuel Antonio

I recently read Ten Reasons To Rent Before You Buy Real Estate in Costa Rica which encouraged all investors to rent prior to purchasing here in paradise.

As a real estate company dedicated to a cautious process, integrity in our transactions and a patient approach to helping our clients find the right investments here, there are certainly many situations and many clients for whom renting prior to purchasing is absolutely a great idea.

That said, opportunity abounds in todays market and a diligent and professional real estate firm can and should help you make educated and insightful decisions that allow you to take advantage of the opportunities, without exposing yourself to blind risk.

Like most decisions in life, there is no black and white rule in regards to renting or not renting before purchasing… that said, I think it is important for buyers to understand that renting for an extended period of time before buying might not always be the best decision..

Here are 10 reasons why buying quality real estate can be smarter than renting:

1. Recklessly purchasing is never a good idea, but in this market an experienced and professional Realtor (this is a very important factor) can and will show you purchase opportunities unlike anything we’ve seen in the last ten years, and many are being sold at a solid pace. While I am not of the opinion that the market recovery is so strong that all deals will be gone overnight, it is clear that in the current buyer’s market, now is the time to achieve the best strategic pricing both for personal use, and of course, long term appreciation.
2. With rental contracts by law in Costa Rica stipulating a 3 year term, you are committing yourself to 3 years in a rental home or apartment, therefore, setting yourself up to buy in a much different market. While many rentals are done on shorter terms, in many cases, if you leave prior to a year time, you could stand to lose your deposit, which while not necessarily big money is a consideration.
3. Lost equity: Buyers looking in the luxury or premier markets (for example in Escazu, Manuel Antonio, and some areas of Jaco) will likely pay between $4,000 – $5,000 per month for a luxury rental, thus dropping somewhere in the range of $180,000 during the course of their three year lease term in the home. While trial runs and being careful are important, the cost of higher end rentals leaves huge equity losses for the client which, with more aggressive purchase strategies could translate directly into returns on the total investment.
4. Inventory cycles: With most of the bleeding inventory already off the market, and fewer and fewer REAL DEALS on the market place, the inventory to be found in a few years is likely not only to be more expensive, but also adjusted both with inflationary inclusions, as well as less motivated sellers.
5. By renting, you don’t experience the ‘pride of ownership’ and it’s difficult to really take hold of the experience, to belong and to feel a real part of the area. This makes it more difficult to fully immerse yourself in the experience, cultivate your property, garden, relationship with neighbors, etc. It is also important that as a renter you will most likely be here on a tourist visa, requiring that you leave the country every 90 days. With a purchase, you can oftentimes start the residency process as an investor which can be an added plus.
6. Renting a nice, furnished home is relatively expensive. I think a lot of folks make the mistake of trying to ‘rent first’ with a reduced rental budget, inevitably get locked into a property or neighborhood that does sit well with them and hence walk away thinking “Costa Rica is not for me” when they were simply in wrong micro area due to rental options available at their desired rental budget. Just like finding the right place to buy is of incredible importance and is a part of any good realtors dialogue with their clients, where you rent can greatly affect the experience and outlook on the country. Take it from someone who has lived in both cheap dives and luxury homes, that your experience and future vision of Costa Rica can be heavily impacted by your rental budget.
7. On the other hand, if you’re landlord, a relatively high rent is good and one of the advantages you enjoy in owning real estate. Every month you pay rent is a month you could be collecting a return on your investment.
8. Everyone, including our experienced team of long time residents here goes through an adaptation curve. Culture shock, linguistic challenges, local customs, etc are learned over time and nobody learns to speak enough Spanish to communicate effectively overnight. Working through this makes your experience in Costa Rica more rich and rewarding, but as a renter it’s often too easy to ‘pull the rip cord’ and not give yourself the chance fully enjoy your new experience in a foreign country and everything it has to offer. I have been an exchange student and lived in many countries and often times those first 3-6 months are challenging as you adapt… while blindly committing is irresponsible, like most things in life, the full richness and rewards are usually harvested over time and far too many renters confuse adaptation and adjustment to dislike.
9. Many investors, if not the majority of purchasers in Costa Rica are not necessary looking for full time retirement or living. While purchasing a full time residence or retirement home can and should require a much more diligent experiential study of lifestyles, culture, etc. there are large numbers of clients who are purchasing here to diversify their investment portfolio, enjoy a second vacation home, corporate incentive, etc. For these clients… Read More and Video

Costa Rica property

There are a lot more options than the well publicized “Gringo” communities.

I will share with you my first hand experiences with the medical, pharmaceutical, insurance systems, banking, residency application, shopping, legal, real estate, rents, transportation, restaurants, the monthly cost of phone, electricity, water, Direct TV, Internet service, and gas. If you decide to move here, there are many factors to consider in deciding what to bring with you, (the cost and method) and what to buy here.

Nearly nine years of touring many types of people from many parts of the world reinforces my belief that there is no universal perfect location. Almost everyone who lives here in Costa Rica claims they have very close to their ideal set of conditions. Of course, there are many people who choose to live in Minnesota with its mosquitoes and extreme temperatures or Florida with its mosquitoes, rain, heat, and Hurricanes.

This is why I encourage all guests to keep an open mind while we visit the places I have chosen as “Benchmarks” of the many factors, which will affect their satisfaction of lifestyle. I provide a checklist of factors and ask each guest to score the various factors of living for each of the areas we visit. Not surprisingly, each area becomes the NUMBER 1 choice of someone.

I limit the tour to a maximum of 12 people to maximize your personal attention. Please select a tour from the “tour dates” page. Email or call me to assure there is still room on that tour and I will pencil you in for that tour. Then as soon as you have finalized your airline reservations, please complete the reservation form here, reservation form here so that I can lock in your reservaton.

If you are going stay more than the 3 days of the tour, I recommend you schedule them for after the tour so you can take advantage of all you will learn and spend the extra time in the areas you like the best.

One of our MAJOR CONCERNS ABOUT MOVING HERE WAS THE QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, AND COST OF MEDICAL CARE. Now that we have all of these years of experiencing all levels of the system, we would rather face a health or injury situation here than anywhere we know of. The World Health Organization rates the Costa Rica system 35th in the world. THE USA IS 36th. You can check out the facilities and costs at two of the major private Hospitals at: La Cima Hospital and Hospital Biblica

Read more…

Villa Lora Playa Ocotal Costa Rica, our newest all-inclusive private luxury 7 bedroom Villa, named after the local green parrot, is an incredible grand two-story horseshoe-design villa that surrounds the most incredible infinity pool in Ocotal. Villa Lora features 10-foot solid wood antique doors opening into a huge 30-foot great room and a large modern kitchen. From the moment you walk in, you will be overwhelmed with the spaciousness of the villa and the amazing views from every angle. Villa Lora was built by the same builder and furnished by the same team of designers who built and furnished Villa Lapa, its sister villa. Villa Lora has a large satellite TV, VCR/DVD player with a superb stereo system with a CD player, and inside and outside speakers.

Villa Lora view Each of Villa Lora’s seven well appointed, air-conditioned bedrooms have full baths and offer beautiful ocean views facing the incredible infinity pool. Four of the beautifully furnished bedrooms offer king beds, while the other three have two queen beds each for a total sleeping capacity of 20 people in this gorgeous villa.

Villa Lora’s jewel feature is the astounding infinity pool that seemingly hangs on the hill with ocean views during the day and a colorful light show with fiber optic water jets spraying into the pool at night. Villa Lora, like Villa Lapa, sits on a mountain behind the other villas so while your walk to the beach is a few minutes farther, the incredible panoramic views from the villa and pool make it all worthwhile.

You won lift a finger during your stay at Villa Lora. Our all inclusive plan provides 3 meals per day, snacks, and a full open bar for one price. Our expertly trained staff is here to accommodate your every need. Your chef, housekeeper, and bartender arrive early each morning to serve breakfast when you are ready for it. A delicious lunch and dinner follow from a rolling menu that has been perfected by our staff and features fresh seafood, vegetables, and fruit, as well as chicken, beef, and Italian dishes.

Activities here are nearly limitless. There is something for everyone: deep sea fishing that many consider the best in the world, scuba diving excursions that depart from Ocotal Beach just below the villa, and two championship golf courses just a short drive away.

If your goal is pure relaxation just ask your bartender, Vidal, to set up appointments for Bahia Azul spa to come to the villa for relaxing massages, manicures and pedicures. You can also enjoy swinging through the jungle on a canopy tour, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, volcano tours, a sunset cruise, or choose among countless other options provided by Allan our tour guide. And don’t forget our guests most favorite activity simply sitting by the private luxurious infinity pool with an inlaid mosaic compass and sipping on a drink served by our courteous “in house” staff.

Costa Rica accommodations

PANAMA CITY – Bill Dorgan, a former management consultant with a bit of a wandering soul, gave up on his first attempt at retirement in Fort Lauderdale to move to Panama to seek new adventure.

And adventure he found.

“I drove out to Lake Gatun to visit the Embera Indians,” Dorgan recalls with a flicker in his eye. “They picked me up in a dugout canoe and took me across the lake to spend the day in their community, where I danced with bare-chested women. That was an adventure!”

Back in the capital city, Dorgan lives a more urbane lifestyle with his partner Raymond in a spacious and elegantly remodeled 12th-floor apartment overlooking the shimmering glass towers of Panama City’s oceanfront banking district.

Here he has found more modest adventure in daily tasks such as learning to speak Spanish, opening a bank account in a foreign country, making new friends and buying and remodeling an apartment.

Dorgan, like thousands of other North American retirees from his generation, has taken moving south for retirement to new latitudes.

A 2007 survey by New Global Initiatives, in conjunction with the Zogby International, found that more than 3 million U.S. citizens have decided to relocate outside of the United States, and another 17 million were considering making the move. The survey showed that Central America ranked second behind Europe among 55 to 69 year-olds who plan to retire abroad.

That was before the financial crisis hit like a tsunami at the end of the decade, wiping out millions of retirement funds and stock portfolios. Now Central America’s relatively low costs, adjusted property prices and promising economic recovery makes it an even more attractive destination for folks who need to make their retirement dollars stretch further than previously planned.

And within Central America, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama have positioned themselves as the… read more

Private home rentals Costa Rica

Costa Rica Vacation Rental Crystal Waters

Crystal Waters Chateau is a one of a kind ocean view custom design home over looking Potrero Bay and Flamingo and is located in the upscale Pacific Heights development.

The house has 5,000 sq. feet with 4 bedrooms (1 king, 2 queens, 2 singles), 4.5 baths with 24 hour security. The villa comes complete with full maid & grounds service, wireless high speed satellite internet, U.S. Vonage phone, U.S. style satellite TV and a professional gourmet kitchen.

There is an extended kitchen/pool bar and grill next to the large infinity pool with large sundeck covered in imported Columbian Coralina. Imported Mexican fossil marble floors & Columbian limestone bathrooms make this home the ultimate in fine vacation living.

Let the pictures speak for themselves, this is the perfect executive luxury vacation home.
Vacation rental Crystal Waters

Located in the exclusive Tulemar bungalows resort in Manuel Antonio. This luxury bungalow is perfect for smaller groups.

The bungalow is equipped with a kitchenette, living room with a sofa-bed, and air conditioned, master bedroom with two queen size beds, plasma TV, DVD and cable. The place is ideal for your family or just for the two of you.

The bungalow is just a short walk from the finest beach in the entire area and it is also close to many bars and restaurants. We have 2 other bungalows available. Please contact us for further details.

Manuel Antonio National Park was established in 1972 to preserve one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse areas in the world. Although it is the country’s smallest national park, the stunning beauty and diversity of wildlife in its 683 hectares is unequaled. Manuel Antonio contains a charming combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. These beaches are the most beautiful in the country, lined with lush forest. The forest is home for sloths, iguanas, the rare and adorable squirrel monkeys and millions of colorful little crabs amongst many other species which your bilingual professional guide will point out. The trail that winds around Punta Catedral affords some spectacular views. Visiting this park will be the most enjoyable thing that you have ever done.

Home to 60% of all the flora and fauna species found in Costa Rica is the Rainmaker Reserve. The Reserve is dedicated to the conservation and protection of the Fila Chonta mountain range on Costa Rica�s pacific side and contains such international treasures as the presumed extinct Harlequin toad. The Rainmaker Conservation Project is a privately-owned rainforest reserve located in San Rafael Norte. The astonishing views of the coastline, mountain streams, waterfalls and the magnificence of its rainforest make Rainmaker an essential destination for nature lovers.

Rates

May – Nov: $1,290 week
Dec – April: $1,890 week
Thanksgiving and Easter: $1,890 week
Xmas and New Year: $2,600 week

Whether you’ve saved up for years for a fun family vacation or want a romantic honeymoon in a tropical paradise, Costa Rica offers something for everyone. This lovely locale isn’t one of the world’s most popular fun in the sun destinations for nothing. There are tons of great activities – on the beach or off, exotic and interesting plant life and wildlife, friendly people and of course, the amazing weather and beaches. Best of all, if you get the right vacation rental or vacation house, Costa Rica is one of the most affordable and flexible tropical vacations around.

If you’re looking for great vacation homes, Costa Rica vacation rentals are the best around. Getting a vacation rental is a great idea if you want an extended stay in exotic paradise on your terms. Whether you’re trying to avoid the hard partying singles of all-inclusive resorts or the stifling Club Med crowd, your own private vacation house gives you exactly the experience you’re looking for. Whether you’re after fun with the kids or a romantic getaway (or maybe both) vacation rentals in Costa Rica have some major advantages over standard hotels and resorts.

For one, vacation rentals give you tons of space. This is especially appealing for families. Many of the finest vacation homes in Costa Rica offer at least the same amount of space as you’d get in a 3 bedroom house, with most of them offering more. Anywhere from 1800 to 6500 square feet of blissful privacy can be yours with Costa Rica vacation rentals. Much more appealing than cramming the entire family into one or two cramped hotel rooms, all this space affords you and your spouse the opportunity for private moments while the kids are sleeping, and means that bickering siblings can each have their own private room while on vacation.

A large vacation house is also a great opportunity to get away with your extended family too, because there’s room for everyone. Imagine frolicking with all your nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters in paradise without the added expense of extra hotel rooms or resort packages. And once you split the cost of these vacation rental properties, you may find them to be even more cost effective than all-inclusive resorts.

Renting a vacation home also gives you privacy. Instead of sharing a large resort with hundreds of strangers, and worrying about who your kids are exposed to, a Costa Rica vacation rental means that no one is looking over your shoulder or intruding on your fun – including unwanted attention from other hotel guests or pushy staff trying to sell you tourist packages. If you’re a newlywed looking for a romantic honeymoon, the last thing you want is a bunch of other guests intruding on your passion. Enjoying yourself in a private vacation house with your new wife or husband, with no interruptions, will definitely keep the sparks flying for the entire trip and give you memories to last a lifetime.

Vacation rentals are available through commercial renters, who specialize in providing the very best in vacation homes to ensure you have a fantastic vacation. Alternatively, you can look for a vacation rental by owner, who would be willing to rent out their private residence to you. Many vacation rentals include private patios and beach access, private pools and kitchen facilities so you can cook what you like and never worry about unexpected surprises in the local cuisine.

If you are eager to enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of Costa Rica on your next vacation, consider a vacation rental – it may be the smartest thing you’ve ever done.

Vacation Rentals in Costa Rica

Costa Rica Accommdations

Caution: Reading this story might make you extremely jealous.

James Island couple Frank Fleming and Kate Rothra Fleming have taken a wild plunge, buying a 117-acre parcel of rainforest deep in the banana-growing region of Costa Rica.

If things go as planned, the two will visit their Eden on the Pacific Coast whenever they can during the next few years, before moving in full-time to run the property as an eco-friendly destination.

And while the banana industry there fell apart years ago, the land remains home to various populations of stressed — but wildly entertaining — red-backed squirrel monkeys.

Frank said he found the property after surfing the Internet early one morning.

“Originally it was owned by a kind of survivalist guy who wanted to go out and grow his own food,” he said. “I think a girlfriend influenced him to turn it into a preserve,” where injured or stray monkeys kept being brought in. They were nursed back to health on a diet of ripe bananas.

“He was also a woodworker who built the cabins,” Kate said.

The couple, both in their 40s, have never been intimidated by travel and seemed to be especially drawn to Central America. The good news for them was that the previous owners had all been from the United States, which alleviated some of the headaches that go along with buying property in a foreign country since they could use U.S. banks to close the sale.

“We were very lucky because it was owned by Americans so we were able to basically wire money to them,” Frank said. Purchase price: about $225,000.

The nearest town is Golfito, which for many years was the country’s largest port on its south Pacific coast. The banana industry thrived there for much of the 20th century, but travel guides say the region’s downfall came after disease infected the banana crops, and worker strikes prompted the United Fruit Co. to pull out. The Costa Rican government tried to help by setting up a duty-free zone in the area.

Frank already had an affinity for banana trees. While his day job is working behind the camera on the locally produced television drama “Army Wives,” he has a side business — “Simply Bananas” — selling landscape banana plants around Charleston. Kate has her own business making and selling jewelry.

Their new property includes 117 acres in total, with two acres of living area, about 14 acres of old pasture lands and 101 acres of green rain forest. Also present are the remnants of the old banana company railroad that delivered…. read more

vacation rentals in Costa Rica