• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1197 0

to Pavones. The price includes accommodations in simple and clean rooms with wood bunk beds; three vegetarian meals, prepared primarily with ingredients from the organic garden; and daily yoga classes, which take place in a fabulous open-air studio overlooking the ocean. This place is a 15-minute walk from Rancho Burica in Punta Banco: take the road going up the hill to the left, go through the first gate on the left and keep walking up the hill. Inquire about volunteer opportunities.

Return to beginning of chapter

Sleeping

PLAYA RÍO CLARO DE PAVONES

Cabinas Casa Olas (8826-3693; r per person from US$15; ) About 100m east of the soccer field, five cabins of varying sizes have wide-plank wood floors, brightly painted walls and an attractive unfinished feel that is appealing if you’re one of the laid-back surfer set. All the rooms share access to outdoor kitchen facilities and a covered hammock lounge.

Cabinas Mira Olas (8393-7742; www.miraolas.com; r US$30-45; ) This 4.5-hectare farm is full of wildlife and fruit trees, and cabins to suit all tastes. The ‘rustic’ cabin, incidentally, boasted the first flush toilet in Pavones, though it’s quite different from the ‘jungle deluxe,’ a beautiful, open-air lodging with a huge balcony and elegant cathedral ceiling. To find Mira Olas, turn off at the fishing boats and follow the signs up the steep hill: it’s worth the climb!

Riviera Riverside Villas (8823-5874; www.pavonesriviera.com; s/d US$85/90; ) This clutch of exclusive villas in Pavones proper offers fully equipped kitchens, cool tile floors and attractive hardwood ceilings. Big shady porches overlook the landscaped gardens, which offer a degree of intimacy and privacy found at few other places in town.

Casa Siempre Domingo (8820-4709; www.casa-domingo.com; d/tr US$100/150; ) The most unbelievable views of Golfo Dulce are from this luxurious bed and breakfast, perched high in the hills above Pavones. Lodgings at the ‘Always Sunday House’ are elegant and glorious, with soaring cathedral ceilings and an overwhelming sense of openness. Flowerbeds that border on expansive stretches of verdant jungle frame the grounds. You’ll need a car to get here: take the left fork at the Río Claro crossing.

PUNTA BANCO

Rancho Burica (www.ranchoburica.com; r per person US$8-22; ) Backpackers can’t stop raving about this friendly and youthful Dutch-run outpost, which is literally the end of the road in Punta Banco. All rooms have bathrooms and fans, while the pricier ones have mosquito-netted beds and attractive wood furniture. Hammocks interspersed around the property offer ample opportunity for chilling out. Reservations are not accepted: ‘Just show up…like everyone else does.’

Sotavento (8391-3468; www.sotaventoplantanal.com; houses US$60-80; ) These two tropical hardwood, furnished houses are set on a picturesque pepper and cacao plantation perched above Punta Banco. Casa Poinsetta and the larger Casa Vista Grande both have rustic, open-air architecture that takes advantage of the breeze and the views. The houses sleep six to eight people, so they are a great deal if you can get a pack of friends together to split costs. The personable US surfer Harry, who custom-designs his own boards, manages the property.

Cabinas La Ponderosa (8824-4145, in USA 954-771-9166; www.cabinaslaponderosa.com; r US$60-200; ) Housed on six lovely landscaped hectares, these cozy cabins are tenderly cared for by Marshall and Angela McCarthy, who have spent years living in their adopted home of Pavones (see boxed text). The common lounge offers all kinds of entertainment, including a ping-pong table and a massive video library, but the real appeal of staying here is the warm hospitality of the McCarthys.

Tiskita Jungle Lodge (in San José 2296-8125; www.tiskita-lodge.co.cr; s/d from US$155/275; ) Set amid extensive gardens and orchards, this lodge is arguably the most beautiful and intimate in all of Golfo Dulce. Accommodations are in a clutch of stunning wooden cabins accented by stone garden showers that allow you to freshen up while you go bird-watching.