Jungle Generosity Retreats

Latitude 10 Resort in Santa Teresa is a 5-room luxury retreat on a surf break bordered by Costa Rican jungle. It's sustainability-focused, employs locals, and supports a charity benefitting nearby schools. And it's in paradise.

The white sandy beaches are popular with surfers at high tide, and vast playgrounds for beachcombers looking for shells and tropical fish in the car-sized tide pools left behind when the tide rolls out.

Each of the "rooms" is actually its own private casita made of almond wood and is accented by unique local décor. The bathrooms are open-air, surrounded by a wild garden, and the ceilings above the showers comprise nothing but jungle canopy. The bungalows don’t have AC, nor do they have glass windows; instead, wooden shades allow the natural breeze to come in off the ocean, some of the resort’s many environmental features.

Each casita also has its own private porch with a hammock and comfy chairs, and there are candles both inside and out to make for an even more romantic setting after sunset. At night, this open concept allows the sound of the ocean’s waves to seep through the buildings, and in the morning, the sound of singing birds makes for a welcome alarm clock.

Latitude 10 Resort is managed by Cayuga, who have won several sustainability awards. At this particular resort, eco features include ceilings fans instead of AC, water-conservation showers, and a salt water pool in which you might even find a live crab or two that have found their way from the ocean. All the nature around the resort is protected, and the architects made certain no trees were cut down on the property.

They also offer private yoga lessons in an ocean-facing studio, guided meditations, mantra chanting, hot salt wraps, massages, chakra work, reiki and crystal healing, as well as myriad nutritious options at their restaurant.

Finally, Latitude 10 also offers "Building for the Future," a program supporting three local elementary schools and a high school, which contributes to the purchase of school supplies, furniture, and sports equipment.

Implications - Concepts like Latitude 10 Resort rely on the growing consumer desire to support socially-conscious tourism that not only helps sustain local cultures, but gives back to them as well.