#4  Harry’s Bar

Harry’s Bar.  The venerable watering hole in Venice (named for Harry Pickering, a youthful American ne’er-do-well.)  It’s been famous for generations. Ernest Hemmingway used to hang out there. It’s been a celebrity haunt ever since. Today there’s also a branded spin-off in Rome. And another in Manhattan. 

But then, there’s also a ‘renegade’ Harry’s Bar in Nosara, Costa Rica.  It can be found at Tierra Magnifica, an 8-room luxe boutique hotel where I’ve been sheltering during my ‘transition week’ between Spanish language classes and yoga retreats. Harry’s Bar here is well stocked with all the ingredients that Hemmingway would ever hope to have assembled into the cocktail of his dreams. There's also a decorative homage to the alcoholic author.  An ancient black dial-up phone. An equally ancient typewriter. And a photo enlargement of a wistful barroom note scribbled and signed by Hemmingway himself: “My mojito in La Bodequita. My daiquiri in El Floridita.”  

And me? I rarely touch spirits. But here? I was happy to order one fine mojito.  

Por supuesto.  

Along with all the Hemmingway memorabilia, Tierra Magnifica serves up a smattering of African art in the public spaces, Buddha statuary in the garden & the yoga pavilion, superb service and dining… and a gazillion dollar hilltop view over the Nosara lowlands.  Being the dry season, that view is awash with Crayola color, but I’m told that it is quickly transformed to nothing but deep glossy green when the rains come. I was assigned a very comfy room near the firepit with a handsome view to the distant Playa Guiones.

Nice stuff.  And I’ve been very content at Tierra Magnifica. It's a slice of jungle splendor. There are birds and butterflies and morning monkeys. But... if you’re looking for the authentic Costa Rica? You’re not going to find it here.  TM (pun intended, I’m sure) is barely more Costa Rican than a Venetian gondola. It has an American owner, a Spanish bartender contracted through the posh global ‘W’ hotel franchise, and an incongruously hyper-active yoga instructor... from Germany. 

Oh, and too cute for words?  The (very animated, very talented) bartender’s name is… Harry.  Or at least he claims that’s his real name. I believe him.  

Harry’s Bar is where TM guests gather before dinner, a relaxed meet and mingle spot.

I took pains to meet and mingle with most other guests apart from an older Euro-couple who spoke only French and limited Spanish. And yet… my most enjoyable conversations were with my three favorite TM staffers, all Costa Rican. I was charmed by their warmth, their civility and their vitality.  

TM?  It’s lovely.  But the ‘real’ Costa Rica doesn’t exist at this hotel or at any of the beachy fun spots that have been newly installed to suit the tastes of the international visitors who are coming to Nosara in search of the latest hip holistic hot-spot. Yes, there is authentic ‘finca’ agriculture and small-scale cattle ranching in the tiny hillside towns scattered throughout the region. But that’s not why most tourists come here. They come for the surfing.  The yoga.  And the mojitos.