Nosara Take 2

Nosara was the first place Alex took me back in early January.  It's about a 5hr drive from San Jose. She loves the area, and it has a reputation for good energy.  Lots of yoga retreats and spiritual centers abound.  That's right up my alley, and while we haven't tapped into any of those, we have wanted to get back. 

Alex had been invited several times to check out a 7bdr hacienda owned by Mel Gibson that is on the rental market for high-dollar customers (approximately $3k/night).  For whatever reason, Alex had never made it over to see the property, but finally, the stars aligned and we were able to schedule five nights to get back.

Mel Gibson's Hacienda

Wow!  Both of us were blown away.  I was told Mel discovered the area over a decade ago and bought this property and another one further south in Santa Teresa. A lot of celebrities gravitate to this coastline of Costa Rica.  He supposedly used this property as a place to get away and do some creative collaborations on various film projects. 

He doesn't visit this property anymore, and here's why.  Since his property was the only access point to the beach, and all beaches in Costa Rica must have public access, he donated half the property to the local municipality and built them a road through the property to the beach.  Thus he could have his property secured. Well, at some point a local official went a bit loco and ordered construction equipment to tear down Mel's gate that blocked the public from accessing his property from the beach.  He wasn't fond of this and eventually won a court battle to get his gate restored.  But the ordeal was so frustrating that he swore off visiting the property again.  Now it is a rental.

The main home is a seven-bedroom hacienda, and we had it all to ourselves.  

This property is in the jungle, and the monkeys loved it.  

We worked each morning and then enjoyed lunch and the afternoon on the beach.

Alex is friends with the property sales rep (Alesia), so she hung out with us for the three nights we were there. 

Punta Islita

And we weren't done yet with the Nosara area.  As hard as it was to leave Mel's home, it was time to drive an hour south to a Marriott Autograph Collection property.  Alex hadn't been there for a decade and needed to see how it had been maintained under new ownership.

This hotel had been built into the mountainside jungle overlooking the ocean.  Gorgeous.  We spent two nights there, working during the morning and taking a late lunch/siesta at the beach club.

Our room had a private jacuzzi and they had done a nice job with the wood decor to accentuate the jungle.

And the jungle came right up to us.  A friendly deer in our yard. An angry iguana chased me inside. Macaws flying overhead. Geckos and ants everywhere.