Hi!
We are Karin Deen & Bart de Graaf and here is a little bit of history about us, how we built and live our dreams, how we ended up in Nosara and what compelled us to start La Encantada.
Each of us has their path in life and we too had our set of experiences & challenges that eventually led us to feel the importance of making some profound lifestyle changes. From fast lane to Pura Vida; from planes, hotels and meeting rooms to plants, trees and wildlife; from material to ethereal; from receiving to giving.
Today, living in La Encantada and mostly working remotely, having the possibility to be fully connected and at the same time being able to walk out of the house and into the jungle is an especially great feeling. Being in an area that can feel super remote and at the same time is only 7 minutes driving from Guiones main beach adds to that experience.
where it begins..
We met in Breda, The Netherlands in 1990, and explored South America for several years before turning our passion for travel into a career by founding a Destination Management Company in Lima, Peru in 1997.
We started out with great hopes, little money and no clients at all, but with lots of energy and a mad belief that we would be able to build this company and share our passion for South America with other travelers.
Only international teamwork was going to provide that positive experience we were looking to create, and one by one some amazing people decided to join forces with us. We formed a team of dedicated travel and IT professionals from a host of different countries; a company aimed at building bridges between cultures and introducing more people to this amazing continent.
After a challenging first year the groundwork was laid for what eventually became one of the most trusted and widely known ground operators in the area. Year by year, brick by brick, Encounter Latin America grew from a tiny office in our living room to a regional player with eight offices in seven countries, a direct sales branch, a small IT development firm, and 2 hotels in Peru.
efforts to improve the Finca and the communities beyond, eventually leading to improvements for all our lives and Mother Nature alike.
building our life in latin america
The scale changed, but our original intention held true – to share with others the incredible experience of discovering South America, and to do so with heart, providing unique adventures and authentic experiences to each and every person trusting us with their dream.
After 8 duly formative years in Peru we moved to Argentina, where our two daughters Edie Annemare (2004) and Noa Elisa (2007) were born. By 2012 we felt work-life had become hectic enough; time had come to scale down and find a calmer place to live. In 2013 we moved to Nosara, Costa Rica, where the girls entered Del Mar Academy and a few years in we found a new passion: developing our family farm, Finca La Encantada.
La Encantada was the name of the first gated community we lived in when we started out in Lima. We had some good years there and back then that name already rang in our ears. Finally, after having been nomads for over 20 years we were presented with our first “finca” here. We were so taken by the beautiful natural landscape, the views, and the energy, that we felt we had come full circle: Finca La Encantada was born.
finca la encantada
We bought our first farm in 2017, followed by two more over the past two years, and the finca now totals 124Ha/305 acres. We finished building and moved into our guesthouse in June 2019 and have been thoroughly enjoying every minute we spend here. The development of ‘raw’ land turned out to be an interesting challenge, but by now the roads are built and utilities installed. Fiber optic cable is at our doorstep and within shortly all lots will be connected to power, water and high-speed internet.
One of our main drivers is to regenerate forest in the Nosara area in order to restore and maintain wildlife as well as capture and store rainwater. La Encantada consists of a series of former cattle farms we are turning back into forests, intertwined with home sites. 65% of the land added to La Encantada eventually returns to forest. At this point we are the proud guardians of 80ha/197acres of forest in several stages of regeneration.
Like with any beautiful vision, an idea is just an idea until people start running with it. We finished developing and sold most lots in our first Finca and are now preparing the second and third. Soon, around 50 lots will be available, together with our organic farm and horseback riding & boarding facility. A farm-to-table restaurant, workout center, spa, retreat center and workshop have already been designated their future locations.
La Encantada is a work in progress and it needs that good people-energy to fuel it on the journey forward! We would love for you to come on board with us, creating a community focused on body-mind-soul wellness, a place where we can all thrive. We were lucky enough to be guided to drawing the first lines in the sand, but we welcome you to La Encantada so we can grow further together.