Tropical house on the Osa Peninsula, close to beach in a quiet neighborhood

This house is a great base of operations for exploring the beaches and jungles of the Osa Peninsula.

THE HOUSE:

Casa Luna Negra was built in 2017. This is a large two-story open-air tropical home. It was designed and built by craftsmen using the highest quality materials: it is our dream house. It is kept cool naturally by an open design with ceiling fans and a very high thatched roof. The hardwood furniture was locally made.

The beach is a 4-minute stroll down a private path shared with the neighbors.

Beautiful hardwood yoga deck, 10 ft x 25 ft (3 m x 7.5 m), under the main roof overlooking the sitting room with a 35 ft (10.5 m) thatched ceiling overhead. Suitable for small group yoga.

Sleeps up to 6: master bedroom with king-sized bed and another bedroom with a queen-sized bed and loft with a queen-sized bed. All beds with hardwood frames covered with mosquito nets and small fans inside the nets. Bedrooms have ceiling fans.

1/2 bath upstairs with the bedrooms. Hot water shower in the downstairs bathroom.

Security door at the bottom of the stairs keeps the bedroom access locked up at night and the bedrooms have lockable solid hardwood doors.

Full kitchen with stove and full sized fridge/freezer with everything you need to prepare meals. Full-sized breakfast bar and a large dining table.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD:

On the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, we are located on the Golfo Dulce of the Osa Peninsula 13 km (8 miles) south of Puerto Jiménez on a dirt road (25 minutes by car). Matapalo is 5 km ( 3 miles) further down the road. Martina's bar (Buena Esperanza), a local landmark, is about halfway between us and Matapalo.

This is not a town location, this is a country location. 4WD is not required to get from town to our house but a high clearance vehicle, 4WD preferred, is recommended to go further down the road to Matapalo or Carate.

Our lot is 2 lots back from the beach. If you take a stroll on the beach at low tide you may see a few neighbors or you may be the only one there. The property between us and the beach is not occupied. This is not a heavily touristed neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is quiet, consisting of about a dozen houses with a mix of year-round families and seasonal expats. No hotels, no shops, the nearest pavement is 13 km to the north in town. There is abundant wildlife in the area: we have seen 3 species of monkeys on our property and the Scarlet Macaws feed in our almond trees. Bird watchers are up and down the road every morning with local guides. One of our neighbors recently saw a Tapir in his creek and a sloth has recently been visiting our property to feed on our Cecropia trees.

We sometimes notice sea turtle tracks and freshly buried nests on the beach during early morning hikes. Sea turtles and dolphins are ever present and whales are seasonal visitors. You never know what creatures you are going to see on the Osa if you are quiet and observant.

THINGS TO DO:

Our beach is never crowded and is walkable at medium and low tides. A favorite day hike of ours to is to walk the beach from here to Backwash Beach at Matapalo and then back on the road with a stop at Martina's Bar and Restaurant (Buena Esperanza). Friday nights at Martina's are a party that starts about 4 pm with a farmer's market. Always fun and full of interesting local and visiting characters who are taking a break from the jungle.

A popular local hike is the jungle/creek hike up to King Louis waterfall in Matapalo. Local guides are available and can add to the experience by helping to identify species and gearing you up for some canopy tree climbing if you are up for it.

Horses are available in the area for beach rides.

Corcovado National Park is accessible from the south at Carate or from some newer trails recently developed to the north at Dos Brazos. Corcovado is a remote primary rainforest and is something for the adventurous to seek out. A guide is recommended.

A nice day drive is to follow the main road south to Carate for a beach picnic or lunch at a restaurant. 4WD is recommended and a few water crossings keep it interesting for the driver.

Surf lessons are available in Matapalo, just down the road. Our neighbor runs the surf school and you can book lessons with him.

In Puerto Jiménez you can book boat tours with another friend of ours to see wildlife in and around the Golfo Dulce, go snorkeling, and catch a favorable tide to drift through the mangroves.

Sport fishing is available too. The Golfo Dulce is ideally set up for kayak fishermen to pursue big game fish close to shore in relatively calm waters.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

Going to town is a bit of a trek so we recommend you stop in town to buy groceries on your way to our place. That way you can focus your time on the beach and the jungle with an occasional trip to town when you get tired of cooking or want to book a boat excursion or other tour. You can taxi from town to the house but if you want to be mobile enough to fully explore the area we highly recommend having a vehicle.

Note the hour of sunset. It goes down about the same time every day and when it goes down it gets very dark very quickly. Try to end your day excursions with enough time to find your way back to where you need to go before the sun sets. Always keep a good headlamp or flashlight with you. Going on a morning hike to the waterfall and planning to be back by noon? Bring a flashlight.

We have the modern conveniences and a sufficiently sized solar system of the highest quality but please be mindful and conserve. The water system is pumped from the well and pressurized by the solar system and the solar power is stored in our batteries. This is off-the-grid tropical living with all of the benefits and limitations that come with it.