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The Hosts

Luisa and Christopher Panzer
Owners Luisa Valdivia, from Peru, and Christopher Panzer, from the US, come from diverse backgrounds, both geographically and culturally. Having found each other on the land-bridge of Central America, it was decided that Costa Rica would be their middle ground, the place they would call their home and raise their children. And as diverse as their backgrounds are, their individual approaches to life transcend many of their cultural differences. Their outlook on life—their desire to live simply, sustainably; their capacity to be able to let go of any tired ideas that don't serve anymore—has created the basis for their co-existence and laid the foundation for what they foresee as a long, adventurous life together, along with their two young children, Lucas and Fiona.

Luisa Valdivia, a social worker from Perú, came to Costa Rica in 1999 as an international partner with Habitat for Humanity International. Based in Nicoya and the Southern Zone of Costa Rica, she met Christopher in the spring of 2001. Christopher, a graphic designer and artist, based in Los Angeles, CA, came as part of a volunteer brigade to build Habitat homes in Nicoya. A year and a half later, they were married in Nicoya, making Costa Rica their permanent home.

Christopher began working with Habitat Costa Rica doing communications and fund-raising. Luisa continued her work in the field, creating affiliate offices and giving training seminars to Habitat employees and volunteers. With the arrival of their two children, they decided that the time had come to realize their dream of building and opening a Bed and Breakfast in Costa Rica.

They left Habitat in 2004 and 2005 respectively, bought some land just outside of the town of San Ramón, and began construction. And after 3 years of bulding stone retaining walls and putting up the teak and concrete house, Casa Amanecer opened in March, 2009.