TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / OCTOBER 2017 103
nature—observing butterflies that mimic
flowers, spotting a resplendent quetzal
alighting in a tree, or simply not running over a
dinosaur-size iguana. Guests can rent or buy
villas, or breeze in for a drink or a bite, or just
revel in the dramatic surrounds. The place also
has a new, exquisitely designed boutique hotel
called Casa Chameleon, up on a rocky outcrop.
The whole of Las Catalinas seems intent on
redefining the meaning of living well. Juan
Carlos Avelar, the town architect, told us about
his vision that evening over passion-fruit
cocktails with Cacique Guaro, a sugarcane
spirit. “The idea is for people here to not feel
isolated or have to get into a car to do what they
need to do,” he sa id. A lt hou g h it w i l l be deca des
before Avelar’s vision is fully realized, when I
half-closed my eyes, I could picture what Las
Catalinas could one day become—its residents
free to step outside their swish, modern beach
houses, interact with their neighbors, and have
everything they need in walking distance. “To
us, pura vida means enjoying nature and giving
the best of ourselves to others,” Avelar said.T
he following morning, Michelle and I
set off on an adventure with the
mountain-bike team from Las
Catalinas called—what else?—Pura
Vida Ride. We’d selected a beginner
course, thinking it would be a pleasure
ride along a cleared trail. Instead, it
ended up being a perilous jag up and
down a narrow cliff-side path strewn
with boulders. “The first time I came
up on this trail, I fell so badly I couldn’t walk for
weeks,” cackled our hyper-fit guide, Esteban.
Michelle and I are not hotdogger off-road
mountain bikers, and to make matters worse,
she had an eye infection and was having trouble
seeing. After several terrifying near-misses in
which she almost slid down the hillside and
into the sea very far below, I suggested we walk
our bikes for a while. Though Esteban tsk-ed at
our timorousness, the trek was another
reminder that travel means taking the negative
with the positive—that not every excursion
works out the way you think it will.
Our choice of activity was decidedly more
low-key in the lush rain forest around the
Arenal Volcano. The temporarily dormant,
1,665-meter stratovolcano has not erupted
since 2010, but seismologists warn that it could
start spewing lava again at any moment. We
first tried the hot springs the traditional way, in
the public spa Eco Termales. Taking the waters
socially was entertaining, everyone drinking
cocktails in their bathing suits as steam rose
into the humid jungle night. But at our hotel,