How did this all come about

   In 1974 I took a trip to Costa Rica with the intentions of finding a piece of property of my own.  I had made several trips to Costa Rica as I was at that time a free lance illustrator and only worked to have periods of time to travel in Latin America.  At that time there was only a seasonal dirt road which traversed the 80km coast between Ciudad Cortez and Quepos.   Living with local people I was generously accommodated by the locals in my search for the perfect property.  At that time the area because of it's inaccessibility was undiscovered and most of the land was acquirable at a very comfortable price.  I was shown many pieces of property until one day a poor homesteader with two daughters and a cat took me up a mountainside to his lookout over the ocean.  I knew at once this was the property I had dreamed of.   I bought the property on the spot.   I had about six months until my return to the US so I lived in the old hut left by the previous owner and began to have wood cut with an Alaskan mill for what would be the present kitchen and cabin.

     As I got to know the land I realized that in the future I would need some flatter land to work with so I offered to buy the neighbors larger piece of property on the other side of the stream.  Combining to two properties became what is the finca (ranch) today.   The two pieces of property were divided by the Ballena Creek which is a major mountainside water shed originating in the area.  The property measures 68 hectares (170 acres) and borders at the top with national reserve land which cannot be tampered with in any way and physically falls under the control of Heartsong as I am involved in an internationally financed land protection program.  That land which continues to the top is another 200 acres.  I am actually paid $1700 a year to provide the security that the part of the land considered climax forest is not tampered with.  It is one of the last of the major hard access valleys where coastal flora and fauna are provided unique refuge.  The land includes fruit trees (star fruit, mangos, pineapples, pejeballe, water apples, cashews, mandarins, oranges, guavas, guanabana etc., etc.  also we have about 5 acres dedicated to pasture.  At this altitude in the forest there is little land which is able to be built on so we are fortunate enough to have over 20 acres of mountainside which can be used  or reforested to our specifications as it had been agricultural land previously and is not original forest.  We have already started a patchy reforestation project with exotic indigenous hardwoods.  We presently have 1km of trails winding through the land and working to improve and extend them continually.

     We have just finished the first stage of an extensive foot trail which will reach the many unique views and hidden forest retreats on the farm.

     One of the closest waterfalls is a spectacular 45 feet and feeds a swimming hole below it.  Our drinking water and irrigation is piped in from a year round spring which originates about 300 yards above the house.

     The property is uniquely surrounded by forest on all visual sides dramatically increasing the sensation of being in the heart of nature suspended over the Pacific Ocean.

     Keeping in harmony with the beauty of the area we have not continued the road from our closest neighbor's large resort hotel 1km below us.  The cost of installing the road up to the property would be about $30,000.  An improved 1km road climbs up the mountainside to the Mar y Selva Hotel.  We have always enjoyed the 20 minute walk through the forest to our house from Mar y selva which is hidden in the forest below us.

Dramatically Located

     This part of the coast is quickly becoming a center of tourism on the pacific coast as it offers more diverse beauty and continued ocean access than anywhere else on the Pacific Coast.

     Heartsong is then located above the most stunning strip of this area being directly above the Ballena Marine Reserve which both protects the fish and the principal breeding grounds of the Humpback Whale which spend 3 months of the year raising their newly born.

    In addition we are located directly over the two principal island formations of Ballena and Tres Mari

Maps and survey......

     Costa Rica

     The Farm

     Survey