Our Story

We are the Gómez Arce family. Our parents are Rosa and Rodolfo, and we are 8 siblings: Keylor, Laura, Allan, Karina, Andrea, Tatiana, Yulieth and Margarita. Now, in total, there are 19 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren in the family.

It all started in 1992 when we arrived at the plot when we were just children, and Margarita, the youngest sister, was only a few months old. Everything has happened so quickly, and everything in our story has been positive, and most importantly, the family has always stayed united.

1992

In 1992, our parents acquired a plot through the IDA (Instituto de Desarrollo Rural), a different plot in Sarapiquí but much farther away. We were able to make improvements with the IDA and negotiate to obtain the plot where Finca Surá is currently located.

Dad says they brought us in a small cart, with luggage, the kids, and belongings, all in a Land Rover.

We lived and worked in agriculture on our plot; we planted cucumbers and sweet peppers because they were the quickest to produce. We remember going to school, each carrying a bag of cucumbers and peppers. In the following years, our parents planted yucca, rice, beans, and all the basics.

Around that time, Margarita used to sneak out at 5 am to the riverbank to fish. So, Dad built a little pond to stock tilapia for Margarita to fish on the farm and not go to the river. That’s the story of the lake that visitors can now enjoy: fishing tilapia and then having it prepared in the restaurant for lunch.

1999

Dad used to go to the farmer’s market, and there he met someone ‘who blessed him and helped us a lot with contacts with the Dutch,’ and that’s when we started selling foliage.

During that time, for nine years, the family’s business was ornamental plants. We planted and exported around 20,000 plants per month, including foliage and heliconias.

2008

At that time, we were going through a quite tough crisis because we had lost agricultural activity (due to the 2008 crisis), where the market for ornamental plants closed from one week to the next.

One day, the first visit of foreigners to our farm happened by chance. It was a Canadian family that came to volunteer, participating in the construction of the school in Chilamate, and they were staying in the houses of the neighbors.

“They came because some neighbors brought volunteers and accommodated them in houses. They were going to a neighbor’s house, but by mistake, they arrived here, liked it, and stayed… it wasn’t planned.”

For the next three years, we were “adjusting pieces” and seeing if the tourism project would work because at that time, nobody knew us. “Nobody knew what we were getting into, not even us.

2011

It turns out that the Canadian family had written a lot of information about us on the internet but never included the location or how to contact us. Many people saw the information and became interested in our project. Some agencies searched for us for over a year, and one day in 2011, a person from a tour operator arrived.

At that moment, we started the project from scratch. Every two months, a couple or a family would sporadically visit us.

“I started doing crazy things… I started looking for agencies and met someone who did marketing. We couldn’t afford to pay him for marketing, so I came up with the idea of proposing a business: that we would give him 5% of the sales. He left, didn’t like the idea much, but about 15 days later, he called me and said yes.” Mom recounts.

Many people from travel agencies and tour guides began to learn about the project, and from there, we started to receive more visitors.

We began working with reservations by email, creating invoices, and building spaces that the project was demanding. From day one, we have always thought about investing to continue improving our project.

The first thing we did was the restaurant with a hearth, a wooden table that could accommodate 15 people. Mom says we started with the house dishes. She brought the dishes when she came to the restaurant and took them back home when she returned. One day she was very happy because we could buy five plates that we still have and use for special occasions.

The time came to name the project, and we called it Finca Surá after two Surá trees over 180 years old. When we arrived at the farm, they were right at the entrance, and now only one of those two trees remains. From those trees, we planted about 20 little trees together with Mom and Dad.

The tree represents life, family unity, and for my parents, it is a symbol of transcendence because they say that the indigenous people believed that the dead were buried under the tree, and the soul ascended to the sky.

One day, Mom joined a group of entrepreneurial women, and with their guidance and financing, she built the first lodging cabin.

We have never stopped investing. Now we have 6 cabins and 8 rooms, a larger restaurant with a capacity for 70 people, and more details in the agroecological tour experience. We are always trying to improve what we have.

At Finca Sura, each family member contributes their best. Mom takes care of the accounting, Dad handles everything related to the fields and some tours, one brother manages construction, the sisters oversee the restaurant, and everyone has a daily role.

One of the details that characterizes us is that from the beginning, we have enjoyed creating beautiful memories for the family and for the visitors who come to Finca Surá.

“I have beautiful memories. I remember that Dad had more ginger flowers, and he used to arrange them with a ‘welcome’ for the visitors. I specifically remember a time when a man who had been married for I don’t know how many years arrived, and they told Dad that they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. Dad made an arrangement to give to the wife, and it had been more than 30 years since he had given her flowers. The lady cried.” Margarita

That is our story, one that we continue to write with much love. We invite you to enjoy our farm, all its spaces, and to live unique moments at our farm.

We look forward to welcoming you!

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