Our history

Hello, we are Stéphane and Nillareth. We're from Quebec (Canada). I've never liked the cold, and in Quebec it's very cold in winter. I've always had the idea of moving south, where it's warm all year round. My wife didn't disagree, so we started thinking about where, but as we traveled we couldn't find a place.

In January 2020, we visited Costa Rica because we'd heard a lot of people talking about it, and curiosity got the better of us. At the time, we had no plans to find a little “home”. We visited the Pacific side and in the middle of our vacation we got sick, possibly sunstroke, so we changed plans to stay closer to Liberia from where we were flying back a few days later. Digging around on the internet, we found a place for an evening visit to see the frogs and nightlife. In the same area was Rio Celeste, so we killed two birds with one stone. We find a place to sleep and head off to Bijagua for the night. Rain prevented us from going to the activity, so we booked a second night and then a third, as we fell in love with the area, its tranquillity, the people, the greenery and its freshness. A crazy idea pops into my head... we could buy a mini lot and build ourselves a little house for our next trips, as it wouldn't be our last in Costa Rica. There's nothing official (with an agent) for sale in the area. We asked the locals and they told us that there was a cow lot for sale a little further down the road from where we were staying. We get in touch with the owner and visit the land from the street. Anyway, it's just to get an idea. The next day we're on the plane back to Quebec in the cold winter. We talk about it, and after a few days of reflection, we decide to buy the whole lot, not just a small one. In 2021 we built our first house to put on Airbnb and have a roof over our heads when we come. From this was born the idea of Villa El Tucán, officially opened as a boutique Eco-hotel in May 2024.