News from Costa Rica Sept. 25 – 28, 2008
Villa Las Mas
Our stay at Villa Las Mas ended up being a very quiet time. Fred started feeling sick the first full day there and it was raining hard most days by noon or so. One sunny morning we took a short hike up the mountain. This was pretty challenging as the slope was steep and the footing slippery mud. We found a spot that lead us in the woods a bit. We could hear the river but never actually saw it. We both felt pretty amazed that neither of us fell while traversing all those slippery slopes. When our hostess, Ingrid, stopped by the villa that evening she told us that further up the mountain there is an area with many large boulders which is believed to be an ancient burial ground. Go to http://www.plasticsurgerycostaricaaftercarefacility.com to learn more about Villa Las Mas and its unique surroundings.
We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Ingrid the evening she stopped by our villa. She is both witty and worldly, which makes her a great storyteller. We were especially entertained with her stories about her early years in Costa Rica and what she learned while building this amazing complex of villas. She said that every new construction must be built with steel and concrete to withstand earthquakes (not to mention daily torrential rain). She explained that the construction workers in Costa Rica are very knowledgeable and work very hard, when they work (they had regular break times that were not negotiable). This was easy to get used to she said, but it was harder to understand why things were always disappearing from the work site. She told us that she began to observe the workers more closely and discovered that if there were tools or materials left unclaimed at the end of a work day the workers looked at them and thought something like, "God has been good to me today", and took what they could carry. She said she once saw a man walking home with a 10 ft steel beam.
Fred and I were feeling low energy and so did not join our hosts for a community dinner the following evening. But from the looks of the kitchen (when I went up for water early Sat.) much food and merriment took place. Villas Las Mas is what is known in Costa Rica as an "aftercare facility". Their primary customers are women who come for cosmetic surgery (face lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, etc.) It is very nice that Ingrid does these community dinners as many of these women travel alone and spend up to two weeks alone while recovering. What a price some women will pay for beauty!!
Villa Las Mas has a new General Manager. She is delightful German woman named Petra. She is very warm and welcoming but is also very efficient and gets you what you need fast. If you decide to try a stay at this lovely location, be sure to drop my name and you will feel like part of the family very quickly. Check out my entries from 2007 to see lots of photos of Villa Las Mas.