Six years ago I took a vacation with a close friend. She needed to go see her father who had retired in Costa Rica. She asked me to go along. I had been widowed a couple of years prior to this invite and I jumped at the chance to do something fun and exciting.
At the same time, we both gave the same answer. The thing we missed most about Costa Rica was the sunsets. Of course, there are beautiful sunsets all over the world. But we live in a beach town on the Pacific Coast, and nearly every sunset is stunning.
Nestled on the edge of Costa Rica’s Central valley is the town of Atenas. With a population of about 7,000 that mushrooms in the high travel season, Atenas has a tradition of welcoming visitors, dating back to the days when it was a hub for oxcarts making their way to and from the coffee fields in the mountains to the nearby capital of San Jose.
Only a decade ago, Nosara—a remote coastal Shangri-la on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste peninsula—was a quietly guarded secret, discussed in hushed, reverent tones by a select squad of yoga devotees and pioneering surfers.
I’m sitting at a big round table in a bar with a group of 20 friends who have all lived in Southern Costa Rica for a while. The conversation turns to why we moved here. What appealed to us so much that we would all buy properties in a foreign country and begin to think of it as “home?”
How many times have I said that Costa Rica is a magical place? It is. Of course, I was speaking metaphorically. Or so I thought.
It all started with a photography assignment, documenting a 40th birthday bash on St. John Island. There, I met a couple who were living full-time in Costa Rica who offered me a place to stay if I ever visited.
The area's growing population, increased tourism, and the fact that erratic weather patterns are the earth's "new normal," have all led savvy developers to seek a solution.
Rodeos take place all over Costa Rica, depending on the season. The biggest ones are in San José during the Christmas holidays and Liberia in late July, to celebrate the annexation of Guanacaste. Indeed, rodeos are especially popular in this particular province. After all, Guanacaste is cowboy country!
What does a person want in a little beach town? If you’ve ever taken the time to make a list of answers to that question, you’re welcome to compare it to this abbreviated version of mine.