Costa Rica was named by Christopher Columbus who believed there was more gold here than in Mexico. Yet the plundering explorer missed the true richness of this bi-coastal wonderland, with its vastly diverse ecosystems. When the Spaniards arrived there were twenty four indigenous tribes living across the lands and evidence has since been found that shows people have lived here since 10000BC, with semi-permanent settlements dating back as far 7000BC. 

For almost 300 years Costa Rica belonged to the unified state of Mexico and Guatemala, ruled by Spain, but in 1821 it, like the other Latin nations, became independent of Spain. For the past 75 years it has very much followed its own path, avoiding many of the problems that have plagued its neighbours. In 1948 President Oscar Arias signed an agreement with five other Central American nations to respect each other’s sovereign borders and in a unique display of trust, abolished Costa Rica’s armed forces, declaring Costa Rica would spend all the money it previously spent on the military on education. 

As a result Costa Rica, while not without poverty, has a highly educated population and a higher standard of living, although as we discover travelling around, it also has much higher living costs. Prices for food and drinks are at times ridiculously expensive compared to its neighbours. But the beauty of the nation and the ‘pura vida’ attitude makes up for the wallet-bashing, and Costa Ricans now consider the humble coffee bean as their army as it does their fighting for them, creating global respect for Costa Rica. 

We’re told all this by Jonathan as we drive from La Pavona in Limón province through Heredia province, towards the little village of Santa Rosa de Pocasol in the northern province of Alajuela. This is pineapple country and millions of them are grown here throughout the year for domestic consumption as well as export. We stop off at a roadside supermarket and buy a large fresh pineapple, which the owners peel and chop up, popping it in a handy bag to keep us going during the journey, alongside a giant orange passion fruit, very different to the kind we get in supermarkets in the U.K. 

Due to the rains and Janet’s drama on the boat, we’re behind schedule when we finally arrive at our destination for the night. It’s a unique, agricultural community called Junilama and we are home-staying with different families in this remote area. None of us quite knows what to expect and as the minibus rumbles along the dirt tracks, weaving past little huts and houses around the hidden valley, we’re all slightly nervous about the evening to come. 

However the warm smiles of the women waiting for us in the covered meeting area at the heart of the community instantly allay any fears. We unload our bags and are all guided to sit on benches as they introduce themselves to us, and us to them, explaining where we are each from. Jonathan acts as an interpreter for the group but when Coman and I reply to them in Spanish they are delighted. 

After the introductions Jamin, who has lived here for twenty years, explains how the community started and what it’s like to live in Junilama. It’s a project started 33 years ago when the government and the IDO Foundation gave 925 hectares of wild countryside to 125 different families for development. They selected families who were poor and vulnerable and gave them six  hectares each to live off, in perpetuity, on the condition that they had to stay on the land for fifteen years, and could not sell it off to anyone during that time. The land also had to be developed in a sustainable and eco-friendly way. 

When the families arrived it was completely wild  countryside. There was no water, electricity, roads or buildings. The families had to build their own houses and amenities and create streets out of the mud and dirt, and if they needed any form of help or medical assistance they had to walk for hours to get to Santa Rosa de Pocosol, the nearest village. Over time, and working together, the families created a little slice of rural utopia, an egalitarian society of tranquility and mutual co-existence in a truly beautiful setting, all sharing the belief that they have created a better life for themselves. 

Some families have left over time, handing over or selling on their small-holdings to people who have heard about Junilama and want to become part of the community. It has grown and expanded further with over 500 families now living here, and even has three schools as well as its own shops, churches and bars. Many of the families are headed up by women and for the past ten years Intrepid Travel and a couple of other tour companies have been bringing tourists here to stay and help with the community. 

After Jamin’s explanation we are all split into smaller groups and assigned a “mother” for the night, in whose house we’ll stay. A very smiley woman called Ely takes charge of us along with Nicole, Tracy, Mark and Jennifer and leads us up a track towards her house. We’re all rather stunned when we arrive. It turns out Ely has constructed a huge log cabin attached to her home with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and verandahs. Out back she’s constructing a bar and relaxation area and it comes fitted with all mod-cons. Essentially it’s a rather luxurious AirBnB, and even has a guidebook and sign outside saying Cabana Ely. 

We settle into our rooms, with four poster beds and mosquito-netting, and Ely tells us she’ll collect us all in an hour to help make dinner. In the meantime we crack open some beers and sit in the living room toasting this unexpected turn of events. Like us, but a few years ago, both Mark and Nicole have separately done Intrepid‘s Mayan Encounters tour and home-stayed in Guatemala, crammed into little side rooms off basic kitchens, as part of a family for the night. This semi-professional bed and breakfast set-up is not what any of us anticipated. 

As we walk back to the communal dining area later I chat with Ely about living in Junilama. She reveals that Jamin is her sister and she used to come and visit Jamin here as an escape from her own life working in a city, and eventually quit the ratrace and moved here herself ten years ago, just as Intrepid started to bring visitors to stay. While Jamin had created a life as a farmer, Ely - who is great fun and also teaches salsa dancing - decided she’d become a host and has developed quite a nice business providing lodgings for the multiple guests she has each week. I joke with her that it was rather good timing and she winks at me with a big smile and says, “I know!” Her laugh is infectious. 

The whole Intrepid group gathers in the same space we were in before where Ely, Sofia, Sandra, Jamin, Alexandra and other ladies are cooking, and we all join in making tortillas and preparing cassava for a simple but delicious dinner. Coman and I also help with the washing up to the women’s delight and they chat away with us in rapid-fire Spanish with lots of smiles and hand gestures. We probably only understand half of what they’re saying but they tell Jonathan they love us, and that we’re one of the best groups they’ve ever had. 

Jonathan then talks us all through the itinerary for the next couple of days ahead as we venture towards the Rio Celeste area deeper in Alajuela province. Unfortunately his rather confusing information proves indecipherable to a few members of the group and their increasingly ludicrous and repetitive questions only make matters worse, driving everyone to distraction. Exasperated we wander off into the night, heading back to Ely’s Cabanas to do a little bit of background research ourselves and explain everything clearly to everyone the following day in words they can actually understand. 

During the night there’s a torrential rain storm which disturbs our sleep, and then just after we’ve got back to sleep, cows start loudly mooing right outside our little bedroom wall. So we’re up with the lark and head over to have an early breakfast in the lush, rainy scenery besides Sandra’s house. All the women cook once more, serving us a hearty meal including a delicious cacao, cinnamon and corn drink, alongside a cacao moonshine to start the day with a kick. 

Before we set off for Rio Celeste we are given a tour of Jamin’s farm where she guides us through all the plants and animals she has. There are banana trees and peppercorns, cocoa beans and coffee, ginger, lemons and guanabaya, water-apple trees, yams, cassava and pineapples. She even grows cinnamon, coriander, lemon verbena, citronella, champú and myrrh amongst many other fragrant wonders. Running around us are a huge variety of hens and ducks, and there are goats and cows in the fields, with woodpeckers in the tree and even a bright green red-eyed frog sitting on a leaf. 

It really is a little slice of paradise, hidden away from the wider world, and we feel privileged to have met the women of Junilama and stayed the night there. Even if we are just another big tour group passing through…