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Costa Rica featured vacation destination for family on ABC’s hit TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

crv.staff — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:24:28 +0000

This past Sunday, ABC’s hit TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featured a deserving California family that received a home makeover while they relaxed in Costa Rica on a vacation donated by G.A.P Adventures.

G.A.P Adventures was launched in 1990 by Bruce Poon Tip, with the belief that other travellers would share his desire to experience authentic adventures in a responsible and sustainable manner. Their tours feature experiences that are culturally authentic and allow folks to see the countries they visit in a way that the typical tourbus vacations just can’t capture.

You can watch the show here.

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Making Dominical on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast Home (Part 2)

crv.staff — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:10:42 +0000

This post continues our earlier Costa Rica lifestyle story here about how our friend Daveed Hollander came to be a resident. He talks more about the changes he’s seen along the Costanera highway along Costa Rica’s south Pacific coast in the last decade.

A soon-to-be-completed 50-bed hospital in nearby Puerto Cortés de Osa brings a reassuring sense of modernity to the area, while the already completed sections of the Costanera highway make travel to the Central Valley considerably easier than in the past.

Even with all these changes, however, the flavor of the Dominical community has stayed very much the same, a cosmopolitan oasis that prides itself on its warmth and diversity. Dominical’s unique flavor has drawn an interesting, eclectic mix of international residents who help enrich the local cultural scene, which now includes a top-notch, English-language community theater company and an impressive array of excellent restaurants.

Living in Dominical allowed Daveed to pursue his professional goals while maintaining a low-stress, slower lifestyle that accommodated his many extra-professional interests. “I can see the beach from my office,” chuckles Daveed. “If the swells look promising, I’ll grab my board and swim out.” At the end of the day, home is just a five-minute drive in the nearby mountains overlooking the coast.

A low-key lifestyle means that Daveed has time for his family, all the more important since the birth of his son in December. “Ethan is a lucky guy,” says Daveed, “to be able to grow up bilingual and bicultural in this beautiful setting, where kids can still run free, and neighbors look out for each other.”

After a decade of living in Costa Rica, Daveed’s network of professional contacts is deep and wide, so it is no surprise his real estate activities encompass the entire Pacific coast from Guanacaste to the Osa Peninsula, as well as the dynamic Central Valley including San José and the trendy Escazú.

Still, his heart remains in Dominical. “Dominical has so much to offer to people of all ages,” says Daveed. “I can’t imagine a better place to call home.”

We couldn’t agree more, Daveed!

Pura Vida,

Bret G. Dudl

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Making Dominical on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast Home (Part 1)

crv.staff — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:07:41 +0000

When native Californian Daveed Hollander strapped his surfboard to his car and drove south for points unknown, he never dreamed he was about to embark on a new life. On break from studies in environmental law, Daveed eventually pulled into Dominical on Costa Rica’s south Pacific coast, and never looked back. “Here was this friendly, laid-back eco-friendly community set in a place of spectacular natural beauty that reminded me of California’s Big Sur. I was hooked.”

That was ten years ago, when Daveed was barely into his twenties. Today Daveed is a husband, father, and an award-winning realtor dedicated to sustainable, environmentally responsible development. He has never regretted his decision to make Dominical his home.

“I’ve always been a very active, outdoorsy kind of person. I grew up surfing and I love hiking, scuba diving, any activity that brings me closer to nature,” says Daveed. With its mountains-to-the-sea combination of tropical forests and gorgeous, unspoiled beaches, Dominical fit the bill. What’s more, Dominical is a convenient gateway to the south Pacific region’s 15 national parks and reserves, from the popular white-sand beaches of Manuel Antonio to the chilly heights of Chirripo.

“When I first came to Dominical, it was way off the grid,’ notes Daveed, “a funky surfers’ paradise with a very interesting and comfortable mix of local and international residents.”

These days Dominical has accumulated the kinds of modern conveniences, such as wireless Internet service and satellite television, that allow residents to control their access to the world beyond.

In the next post, we’ll talk more about the way Dominical has evolved since Daveed arrived.

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