I built Kukulkan as my dream home in what I have always considered the most beautiful part of the world.
We located it on a hilltop to get the freshest air and best possible view of the valley below. We had to build the 1.5-mile road to the site. And we built the house with steel for strength and wood to blend in with the environment and for comfort.
We did our best to build a comfortable modern home that was totally eco-friendly and off the grid and solar powered yet with high-speed internet and efficient A/C in the bedrooms for those rare hot stuffy nights.
But mostly we designed a house to allow the breezes and natural sounds of the jungle to come through. We put in screens mostly to keep out the moths because miraculously one never sees a mosquito. I think if one mosquito survived in this hilly terrain it would be eaten immediately by a gecko or a bat. So laying outdoors on the deck or in the pool is just serene with no ‘off’ ever needed.
I added the pool after 2012 but originally I did my daily swim in the river below. It's still lovely to take a dip in the river or take a kayak, but once we built the pool which sits well off the ground alongside the decks it became irresistible to just jump in the water at the house. And because the pool is only visible to passing birds or an occasional howler monkey in a nearby tree, bathing suits are optional. Of course, I’ve had a few embarrassing moments. But oh well.
I decided to put Kukulkan for rent on VRBO/HomeAway in 2012 as I knew I would be gone for quite a while and it is just too beautiful a place to keep greedily for oneself. Kukulkan should be shared and others should enjoy and take inspiration from being there. I did come back to Kukulkan to live in 2015 with no rentals for two years but have now moved to Italy and since May of this year, it is back on HomeAway/VRBO available for rental. Although I admit Italy is nice, I do miss Kukulkan and Belize.
But it's not just the location that makes Kukulkan so special for me and for our guests. It is the Moh family. Leonardo and Adelita moved to Kukulkan with their 2 and 6-year-old daughters two months before I moved in in 2006. They have been with me and taken care of me and our guests with such thoughtfulness and kindness that they have become even more important to Kukulkan than the amazing views. Just read the reviews and you will see what I mean. And happily, there is now a 3rd Moh with the arrival of little Kayon Alroy almost one year ago.