Silvestre is a new luxury resort in Nosara, Costa Rica.Juan Tribaldos/Silvestre Nosara
A shirtless man with blond hair brushing his shoulders walks down the middle of the unpaved road carrying a surfboard on his head, a big smile spreading across his face as he nods hello. Above him, howler monkeys reach for breakfast in the branches of a mango tree.
As tempting as it is to grab a board and follow – it’s been a long winter in Toronto, and opportunities to surf in a place like this are rare – I am instead headed to a dimly lit basement studio for a sound healing session, a first in my lifetime experience, at Nosara’s newest luxury hotel, Silvestre.
This small village on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica has for decades been a mecca for yoga enthusiasts, surfers and people looking for a taste of “pura vida.” This Costa Rican phrase used for both hello and farewell literally means “pure life” in Spanish and manages to encapsulate in just those two words an entire philosophy of living.
Every guest at Silvestre gets a surfboard for the duration of their stay.Photography by Callum Morse and Marine Jaud/Silvestre Nosara
Sergio Pucci/Silvestre Nosara
The peninsula was first identified by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in the early 2000s as one of the world’s so-called Blue Zones, areas where people live exceptionally long lives. It’s bound to become even more popular after appearing in last summer’s Netflix documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
I’m staying at Silvestre Nosara. Its founder Chris Ingham Brooke, who opened the hotel in February, knows his clientele’s pura vida aspirations well and has designed the programming accordingly.
One of his main goals was to create an environment for connection with Nosara’s many communities – the surf community, the yoga community, the spiritual community.
Silvestre has a starting rate of US$840 a night in the low season of May to September.Juan Tribaldos/Silvestre Nosara
“You’ve got very different groups here,” he says. “It’s people from all sorts of walks of life coming to Nosara, from billionaires who are in board shorts through to backpackers and everything in between.”
At a starting rate of US$840 a night in the low season of May to September, you won’t find many backpackers at Silvestre. But the guests, most of whom come from Toronto, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, all have the friendly vibe of fellow travellers looking for the pura vida good life.
Prior to my arrival, I had never heard of sound healing sessions, or sound baths. If I had, I probably would have rolled my eyes, the same way I tend to roll my eyes at talk of crystals and chakras. But what’s the point of travelling if you’re not going to experience new things?
I find mats spread out like sunbeams in front of an array of bowls, bells, chimes and a flute, among other items, on a blanket with a single candle burning, its light reflected in the intimately lit mirrored arches along the white walls.
“I’m looking forward to going on this vibrational journey with each of you,” says Ceibo, a 51-year-old former brand manager for The North Face with dreadlocks who has been guiding sound journeys here for years now.
Over the next hour, with the fragrance of a small piece of burning wood like incense in the air, Ceibo makes gentle noises – by rubbing crystal bowls to make lulling, low tones, by tapping metal chimes and creating the birdlike rustling of feathers attached to the end of a stick.
If I was skeptical before I entered the studio, I was a complete convert by the end. My body mush, my head clear. It’s almost transcendentally soothing.
The next day, I’m ready for something different. Every guest at Silvestre gets a surfboard for the duration of their stay – it’s a good one, made by Bali-based designer Jim Banks.
I grab mine from the hotel’s surf concierge and head out for a lesson with Sleijter Molina, a young Costa Rican and instructor at the hotel. We head to Playa Guiones, a world-famous surf spot where you can ride waves almost all year long.
When I finally manage to catch a wave after many, many wipeouts, he throws up the “hang loose” sign with his hand and hollers with a smile so big, he looks like a proud parent seeing his newborn take their first steps.
Another surfer who’s been watching me struggle all morning even yells congratulations, a sign of just how friendly the community here is.
Wander up from the hotel in the opposite direction of the beach and you will find cafés and restaurants, stores that rent bicycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), surf shops and high-end clothing stores such as Palmera Negra and Love Nosara. Tuk-tuks, the motorized three-wheeled vehicles zip by, taxiing people around town.
On my last night, I take a taxi into the hills for dinner at El Coyol, where stunning views of the ocean mesmerize diners.
There’s a swing hanging from a tree here where you can feel as if you’re about to fly over the valley as you wait for a dinner of fresh seafood. And make sure to arrive in time for sunset, it’s spectacular.
As I watched the sun go down, I thought about all the sounds of the past few days. The monkeys, the crystal bowls and crashing surf, of ATVs revving and wine glasses clinking.
But life in this place isn’t defined by any particular sound. Instead, it’s a sort of quiet stillness that lets you reconnect with what’s truly important. Maybe that’s what pura vida is all about.
If you go
Nosara, Costa Rica.Callum Morse/Silvestre Nosara
Nosara is approximately 130 kilometres from the international airport in Liberia, Costa Rica. Much of that distance is along unpaved roads, so be prepared for a long, slow drive. There are multiple shuttle services to Nosara for approximately US$50 (Silvestre guests can book a complimentary shuttle).
The writer was a guest of Silvestre Nosara. It did not review or approve the story.