HHI Take 2

I don’t know that we’ll ever actually leave Seattle, or spend even part of the year somewhere else for that matter, but it never hurts to imagine. We made arrangements a few days ago to look at a few properties along the beach so after breakfast, hop in the car and make the 45 minute journey back to Playa Flamingo. We’re met, not by the person we met in the office originally, but by a friendly American broken and his wife, who looks strangely familiar. They own the agency and have set up a fairly full itinerary for us.

Over the course of several hours, we see a cross section of houses, condos, beach-front, beach-view, practical and impractical. Much of it is jaw dropping, both visually and financially.

Somewhere along they way a call comes in from a film crew asking about the roads into a particular location. It turns out that Sarah has been the broker on six episodes of House Hunters International, some of which I’m sure I have watched in the weeks leading up to our trip.

One of the most interesting (and unaffordable) places we visit is called Las Catalinas. About a decade ago, there was nothing here but jungle and an entirely new town is being created brick by brick. Unlike most resort communities, with wide-open spaces often centered around golf courses, this development is purposefully high-density, focused around pedestrian-only streets and public squares. It has a old world Mediterranean vibe which feels decidedly out of place in Central America but, somehow, still works. As a place to live, I can’t really see us fitting in here, but for a week or two of vacation, it could be very cool.

Sitting up on a ridge above Las Catalinas is a restaurant that our real estate people highly recommended. Supposedly, it was rated in the top 5 places in the world to watch the sun set. We are not disappointed. As always, pictures come nowhere close to the real thing, but we try and capture it as best we can.

We stick around for dinner (also very good) before making the long drive back to the hotel.