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Pacific Cliff Dwelling in StylePlaya Flamingo, Costa RicaBy Brooke CunninghamLeaving at 4 AM from Boston’s Logan airport I always think I am in for a long day of cruising through airports but this turned out to be a snap! Including the two hour time change, we were at the dramatically beautiful cliff top house Casa Tranquila on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in time for lunch.
For more information on Costa Rica: Casa Tranquila: The Congo Trail Forest Canopy Tour Golf in Playa Flamingo: TRAVELLADY |
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We each picked a bedroom (mine with a view right out
of National Geo) changed into our suits, gratefully accepted a fresh chilled
margarita on the way to the infinity pool (appearing to be the only thing
between us and the horizon) and in all of 10 minutes we felt at home. Sweet
Emmy, the housekeeper and cook at Casa Tranquila asked us what we would like for
lunch while we floated, and half an hour later we sat down to a fresh local
feast, and of course another margarita! Actually, this is way better than it
feels to be home!
The house itself is spacious and very
handsome with a view from the terrace or through the 50 foot wide span of glass
doors that is absolutely heart stopping! Cliffs drop hundreds of feet straight
down into the sea on the north side, and to the south wide white empty beach
curves away to connect with a peninsula crowned by a house nearly as beautiful
as our own. There is something rather seductive about the light that comes
through those tinted windows, which serve very nicely to keep the house cool
during the day and cause the soft dun colored walls to almost hum peacefulness
when the afternoon light strikes them. 
The ceilings in Casa Tranquila must be at least 16 feet
tall where they meet the walls and higher where the beams fan out in a circular
pattern like a giant beach umbrella from the center. It’s a very distinctive
style which creates simple but elegant living spaces. There are three very
private bedroom suites, and a guest cottage which can be rented along with the
house for a total of 6-8 guests. A car for road trips and a golf cart for runs
into the small town of Playa Flamingo at the bottom of the hill are included.
Costa Rica itself is friendly and has a very grass
roots kind of feel. Spanish is generally spoken, but most of the locals have a
good bit of English which they seem glad to practice. There is a definite air of
not yet having arrived as a tourist destination which personally I find
charming. The currency is easy to master and for the most part restaurants,
groceries and liquor are much less expensive than I would have thought. I like
to bring hand made gifts home for friends when I travel, and in Costa Rica
people seem to use their hands a lot as there are wonderful inexpensive things
to be found in small shops along any street.
It takes practice to weave in and out of the VW sized pot
holes in the road that Costa Rica is famous for but we eventually mastered it.
In the course of the week that we stayed in Playa Flamingo we took a hair
raising trip on a zip line through the rain forest canopy which turned out to be
a blast once you got the hang of it, visited a world famous surfing town called
Tamarindo and had an exceptional dinner in a restaurant which had no walls as
surfers slid like dancers up and down the curled waves in front of us. We spent
an afternoon at a combination internet café and animal rescue shelter where we
found everything from peacocks to lizards to dogs, most of whom lounged in
overstuffed chairs while we got our email. We had salsa lessons at a local
restaurant down the hill from our house, and walked one of the most beautiful
beaches I have ever seen and saw no one else!
Through the whole week, Emmy fed us wonderfully
when we were at home, and produced her magic margaritas with home made chips on
the terrace each afternoon as the sun filled the house with golden light. Most
days Eduardo came by and gave one of us a fabulous full body massage on his
portable table in the guest cottage. It was a week that we never wanted to end,
certainly one of the most peaceful I have ever spent.