The first night in our AirBnb I found myself thinking “what have I gotten myself into” as Skylar fell fast asleep next to me.
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When Skylar and I decided to visit the Dominical area in Costa Rica, we looked into many properties in the area. We agreed to a beautiful pavilion about 15 minutes from Dominical. We knew from reviews that it was up on the side of a mountain, and the drive would be a little challenging. A 4×4 was definitely recommended. We also knew that if we could get used to the drive the property and view would be spectacular.
Our timing was spot on for having the most difficult driving conditions to drive up the mountain for the first time. The sun had recently set, and a storm had rolled in. Thankfully the property manager met us at a local restaurant to show us the way. Despite this, I was on the edge of my seat the entire drive. The road continued to wind up the side of this mountain. Some areas of the road had significant holes and other areas were nothing but mud. While I worried about making it to our destination, I also wondered how we would ever find our way back! The roads we were taking were off the grid – the didn’t even register on google or waze.
After what seemed like an eternity, we pulled into a driveway that looked familiar from the pictures on the AirBnb site, we made it, and I could breathe again. The property manager helped us bring our luggage into the pavilion, provided us necessary information about the property and left us for the evening. While we could not yet experience the view of the property, the pavilion was beautiful – stone floors, glass windows from floor to ceiling, beautiful wood work, better than we anticipated.
The rain continued as we unpacked our suitcases and we decided it was not worth it to try and go into town after the treacherous drive in the dark the first time. We had stopped at a grocery store and had enough food for the evening and morning so we called it a night to wake up early for sunrise. That was my plan at least.
As we climbed into the bed the power went out. It made sense, it was storming, and we were pretty far up a mountain – but my anxiety kicked in. Were we about to fall victims to a scam? Would we be kidnapped? Would we be robbed and left on the side of this mountain with no phone service, money or vehicle and hope we could find our way to town on foot and find a nice person to help us? My mind was running wild.
Fifteen minutes later the power was restored, my mind relaxed and I thought I would get some sleep. We turned off the lights hoping for a good night’s rest to be ready for tomorrow’s adventures. Skylar seemed to have no trouble dozing off. About fifteen minutes after shutting off the lights in the pavilion the outdoor noises really ramped up. Giant frogs, larger than my fist, croaked outside the windows and howler monkeys made their way onto the patio. I could hear them running on the patio along the pavilion. The pavilion was designed to experience the outdoors while staying indoors. The structure was enclosed, but there was a small area above the floor to ceiling windows that was screened in. This meant that every noise outside the pavilion would make it’s way inside.
On top of the outdoor noises, I was also hearing tiny scratching noises from the bed. Skylar thought i was crazy, maybe hallucinating, since my anxiety was so high from everything else that had happened that evening. After about the third time waking him up because of these scratching noises a lizard scurried out of the bed! At least I wasn’t going crazy!
Finally, once I got comfortable with the frogs, monkeys and lizards, I was able to sleep. That first night was tough, totally out of my comfort zone. The rest of the week was amazing. The frogs and monkeys still visited at night, it just became normal. Thankfully there were no more encounters with creatures in the bed. We woke up the next morning to a breathtaking view.
It was a unique experience. Once I got used to it, I really enjoyed the outdoor noises, the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the world and just being with nature. I will admit, I was not ready for it the first night, but I would go back and do it all again in a heartbeat.
We stayed in the area for a week and captured our time at the Bali Pavilion and our adventures in Costa Rica in a vacation video.
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I can understand why you are worried on the first night you arrive! The road is narrow can it fit two vehicles? You capture a lovely photo in there… It’s a relaxing place.
Yes, it was quite nerve racking – but that was our own fault, for wanting to stay in such a secluded area. We loved it, but it isn’t for everyone. There are many other options in the area closer to town that would not cause the same worries – and the roads are much better haha Some of the roads on the mountain could only fit two vehicles if one pulled over on the side.