Hello and Welcome Home to Rancho Margot

My name is Juan Sostheim and I am the owner and operator of Rancho Margot, a sustainable Eco Lodge in the Lake Arenal and La Fortuna region of Costa Rica. My sons and I discovered this property while on a horseback tour from El Castillo in 2004 and now call it home. What can I say except that it was love at first sight. This gorgeous property at that time was used to graze cattle and was completely denuded. The one and only sizeable tree was the Manzana de Agua that canopies over our tree nursery today. Even in its barren state, it was brimming with possibility. Since then, and with the help of local naturalists and many knowledgeable indigenous people, we have actively reforested, helping to bridge the gap between the primary forest of Monteverde with the primary and secondary forest to our south and east.

Our reforestation efforts have brought in many native and exotic plants to host our pollenators (including bats, bees and hummingbirds).  Today we produce a substantial amount of our food and are excited for many of the coffee, avocado and fruit trees planted in our early years to come of age and bear fruit! We have tapped, literally, into the natural resources here and have done so in a way that preserves these resources for generations to come.   We are completely “off  the grid” as they say and are expanding this infrastructure in step with our growth.

¡Disfruten! - Enjoy!

~  Juan Sostheim