Built on the side of the hill, Casa Mimosa was three stories high with a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. Each floor was rented as a two or three bedroom villa.
The spacious veranda was where we ate most of our meals or enjoyed the wonderful outdoors. This was where I had my coffee every morning while enjoying the view.
The living room had plenty of space for visiting or watching TV. We found that by renting a villa for our group of seven, it was much cheaper than staying in a hotel.
We cooked most of our meals in the large kitchen of the villa. Marco, our young Costa Rican friend, loves to cook so he served gourmet-style meals and all of us took turns helping and cleaning up afterwards. Going out for a meal was often a let down as the food was not always as good as Marco cooked. 
All seven of us enjoyed the space on the veranda. The best time to visit Playa Flamingo is from December to April during the dry season. The sun shines 11 to 12 hours a day at that time and the average annual temperature hovers around 28 degrees C or 82 degrees F.
This was the view of Playa Flamingo from our villa. The original name of the beach was Playa Blancha but it changed its name in the 1950s to coincide with the construction of the area's first major hotel, the Flamingo Beach Resort. Playa Flamingo has no village center. It does have a few excellent restaurants and hosts some of the most beautiful hotels, villas and condominiums that Costa Rica has to offer.
Looking in the other direction, you can see for miles. There are houses and condos down below but you can not see them because of the dense foliage on the trees. The hills are lined with private homes, villas and expensive condos.
Four of our five young people at the pool on the beautifully landscaped grounds of Casa Mimosa.
Playa Flamingo is an ideal vacation getaway with its stunning white sand, unspoiled beaches and pristine clear blue water.
This fabulous beach has near perfect weather all year round.
The beach is a small corridor of white sand flanked by low altitude hills lined with private villas and expensive condos.
The Palms, a new luxury condo, is built right on the beach where a unit sells for 1.2 million US dollars.
A view from the beach looking up the hill towards our villa.
A lovely late afternoon view of the tranquil ocean with a sailboat lazily sailing around the playa.
Playa Flamingo has the nation's largest marina and has some of the best deep sea fising in the world. We took a memorable sunset cruise from here on New Year's Day.
A view from some of the expensive real estate on the top of the hill.
This area is know for its spectacular sunsets and we were not disappointed. We enjoyed this time in paradise while the weather back home had temperatures about 30 degrees below C. I can certainly understand why so many Americans and Canadians are buying vacation property in this area. Playa Flamingo is costly but absolutely beautiful!
Looking in the other direction, you can see for miles. There are houses and condos down below but you can not see them because of the dense foliage on the trees. The hills are lined with private homes, villas and expensive condos.
Four of our five young people at the pool on the beautifully landscaped grounds of Casa Mimosa.
Playa Flamingo is an ideal vacation getaway with its stunning white sand, unspoiled beaches and pristine clear blue water.
This fabulous beach has near perfect weather all year round.
The beach is a small corridor of white sand flanked by low altitude hills lined with private villas and expensive condos.
The Palms, a new luxury condo, is built right on the beach where a unit sells for 1.2 million US dollars.
A view from the beach looking up the hill towards our villa.
A lovely late afternoon view of the tranquil ocean with a sailboat lazily sailing around the playa.
Playa Flamingo has the nation's largest marina and has some of the best deep sea fising in the world. We took a memorable sunset cruise from here on New Year's Day.
A view from some of the expensive real estate on the top of the hill.
This area is know for its spectacular sunsets and we were not disappointed. We enjoyed this time in paradise while the weather back home had temperatures about 30 degrees below C. I can certainly understand why so many Americans and Canadians are buying vacation property in this area. Playa Flamingo is costly but absolutely beautiful! ------------------------------------------------------
Muriel MacRae, owner of Del Sol Travel and Del Sol Destination Weddings, is a travel consultant who specilizes in destination weddings and romantic getaways to tropical areas. Located in Calgary, Alberta, she plans destination weddings for couples in and around the Calgary area and throughout North America. For more information about planning your destination wedding or romantic getaway, please contact her at travelinfo@delsoltravel.ca