Katherine and Worth Saunders first visited Costa Rica in 1997.
The couple found themselves drawn to the country’s biodiversity and wildlife, seeing monkeys, sloths, toucans and macaws perched on tree branches within its jungles and national parks.
Mr. Saunders, 58, said he was amazed by Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region, with its lush rainforests and the “topography with the mountains coming right up from the Pacific Ocean.”
As they explored the country during subsequent visits, the couple, who live in Greensboro, N.C., made it a point to bring the whole family. “We brought our kids twice as they were getting older so that they could experience it as well,” said Ms. Saunders, 57.
In January 2021, Mr. Saunders accompanied a friend who was traveling to Costa Rica to look at properties to buy. “It was spur-of-the-moment decision” he said.
