swim, safe to kayak and standup paddle. It’s a great base to explore all these Mayan ruins and culture, then come back to a place where you can unwind, hang out by the lake, have great food, and very comfortable rooms.” The collection also includes the distinctive Jicaro Island Lodge in Nicaragua, offering views of the Mombacho Volcano, and Hotel Aguas Claras on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast—a beachfront arts hotel where each room serves as a living art installation. TRANSFORMING THE LAND: ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP The Cayuga Collection’s approach to luxury begins with healing the land. Their properties speak of remarkable transformations of degraded environments into flourishing ecosystems. “Imagine a piece of land that was once barren and overused, cleared for agriculture, stripped of its natural life,” Pfister says. “At Arenas del Mar in Manuel Antonio, the land was a sheep pasture. At Aguas Claras on the Caribbean coast in Puerto Viejo, it was a cacao plantation.Those places had lost their vitality.” Today, these formerly depleted spaces teem with wildlife. Lush gardens have replaced agricultural monocultures, creating habitats that support local biodiversity.“We’ve been able to bring back thriving private nature reserves,” Pfister notes. “Wildlife has returned. Where there were once fields, there are now vibrant ecosystems full of color and sound.” 43 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 03 CAYUGA COLLECTION
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx