By Ivo Henfling

In last week’s blog I left you standing in line at the Orotina toll on the highway, so we’ll take it from there now. As soon as you get past the Orotina toll, you have to be careful not to miss the Jaco Beach turnoff on the right. If you do, you’ll end up in Puntarenas. From there, you’ll enjoy a one lane easy going drive for the next 20 minutes until you get to the Tarcoles bridge.

Once you drive down the hill toward the bridge, you can enjoy the view of the Carara National Park right in front of you. Slow down when you get to the bridge because many tourists park their car and walk on the bridge to see the crocodiles for which the Tarcoles area is so famous for. They do this awesome crocodile - birdwatching tour at the river, next time I'll go do it again and I'll tell you all about.

These photos were taken from an iPhone so they're terrible but they give you a pretty good idea of what this is all about.

Tarcoles

Just a few minutes from the bridge on your right driving toward Jaco Beach, you get to the Nativa Resort entrance. I was marketing and sales manager in this resort when it was just a development, at the time was called Lomas de Carara. The original Dutch developer saw the potential of the property and insisted I should become their marketing manager. While I had my real estate office in Escazu, I fell in love with the property, the views and the amazing sunsets.

The developers didn’t have the money to develop the property the way it should have been done and their successor pushed a lot of money in there and built apartment buildings and a huge swimming pool. The community, now called Nativa Resort, still has that magic that I felt in 1999.  

Magical view and environment.

The resort, as soon as you drive past the gate, has this awesome long manicured drive and as soon as you hit the main swimming pool the magnificent views will get you. Nativa has all the makings of a great community: great maintained swimming pools everywhere, a resort type pool  with sand beach that would fit a waterpark and mainly the most incredible and magical views. The only reason the resort didn’t take off like crazy in 1999 to my opinion is that the developers thought they could get away with not building a well needed anchor at the entrance, a commercial strip with some restaurants and a 7-11. So now you need to drive to Herradura or Jaco for decent dining and grocery shopping. And the highway didn't even exist then.

Master plan of a nature community

The community was at first called Lomas de Carara because it is an extension of the Carara National Park just across the coastal highway. A total of 247 acres, divided in 3 stages, between 60 and 300 feet altitude, this community was developed with the idea of protecting the existing forest areas. The open areas with no trees were already grazing lands. Depending on where you live, you will have Tarcoles river views, Carara National Park views, ocean views and some even have the honor of having it all. My friends Robert and Silvana Craig definitely have all of it and more.

Building lots

Originally, the master plan held like 63 building lots and since most are not built on, Robert had the great idea of buying one and turn it into his private garden. It gives him something to do and it’s going to look beautiful. In the pictures, you can enjoy the beginnings of this garden, with the forested common area in the back.
After all these years and though I’m sure the developers are not really happy with the fact that Nativa Resort did not grow into what was supposed to be a large community, I actually liked what I was seeing, its still carried all that magic. Next week, I will show you some more about the buildings and the views in Nativa resort. If you have any comments of your own on Nativa Resort or the trip to Tarcoles, feel free to do so.

By Ivo Henfling your Costa Rica realtor who enjoys magnificent views and nature surrounds. If you’re looking to buy a house near the beach or an ocean view home in Costa Rica, contact me now. Robert rents one of his apartments out on short term or vacation rental, so just let me know and I’ll connect you with him. You've not seen much, untill you've seen GoDutch. And if you are looking to buy a beach property, we have a real good realtor in Jaco associated to our network you can connect with.