An American couple visited Costa Rica hoping to find a surf
shack in need of loving owners and instead have become the creators
of a treehouse village sitting on 600 acres of
rainforest.
Mateo Hogan first fell in love with the country during a
surfing trip and urged his wife Erica to come with him on their
next holiday to the country.
'Both wanted to explore the option of finding a little
getaway in the tropics to escape the doldrums of the Colorado ‘mud
seasons’… maybe a fixer-upper surf shack or a bungalow in the
rainforest,' they explain
Reports that the couple went a very different direction from
their minimalistic instincts when they found a plot of land that
was for sale.
Along with the beauty of the stunning rainforest property,
the couple was compelled by their environmental heartstrings, as
the land was being touted as a potential harvesting spot which
means that a more cynical buyer could effectively chop the trees
down leading to deforestation.
'(The land) felt really sacred from the get-go and we felt
like this would be a travesty to let this be deforested,' Mrs Hogan
told the site.
'It was bigger than what we were intending to purchase
initially. And one night I just thought, well there are some really
cool trees on that property. What if we built
treehouses?'
The couple figured that they could afford the 62-acre
property if they convinced friends, relatives, and fellow
adventurers to invest as well and build their own
treehouses.
Said huts are a far cry from those built by children in
their backyards: many are multi-room homes that were crafted high
up in the trees and others are suspended on tall stilts that help
to get their homes off the ground
Adding to the other-worldy nature of the site, all of the
treehouses are connected by ziplines.
Gravity-fed water systems and purposefully collected spring
water helps allow plumbing to be within reach of all
residents.
And, at the urging of investors, each of the treehouses is
available for rent.
'It certainly takes a certain type of person to be open to
(treehouse life), but we found most people that want to build a
treehouse in the rainforest are pretty laid back,' Mrs Hogan told
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