A Hair Guru’s Guide to Costa Rica
As the go-to hairstylist for Chanel campaigns and Thom Browne runways, James Pecis understands the glamour and excess of the fashion world. That’s why a 2013 shoot with Gisele Bündchen in the Costa Rican hamlet of Santa Teresa left such an impression. “I was going surfing on my lunch break,” he says. Pecis and his wife, Kimberley Norcott, ended up buying property nearby; when the pan- demic hit, they stayed put with their young son, taking in the waves and sunsets. Pecis is attuned to the environment (“I’ll be paddling through the water and see a shampoo bottle passing me”), which is why the duo has created Blu & Green, an innovative hair care brand with plastic-free packaging. It reflects their pared-down lifestyle in a place that draws a creative crowd. “You have fishermen next to Maurizio Cattelan next to Camilla Nickerson here on holiday,” he says. “It’s super tranquilo. No one cares who you are!”
COURTESY BLU & GREEN.Pecis and his son in Playa Hermosa. For surf instruction, Andrés Salas Zamora “can get you on waves whether you are a first-time beginner or an experienced surfer looking for the best spots.”
COURTESY OF ARÍO TOURS.Arío Tours offers scenic horseback rides.
COURTESY BLU & GREEN.Blu & Green shampoo tablets, $32.
ILLUSTRATION BY CYNTHIA KITTLER.A breath course with Augusto Carrara is a “game changer for surfing.”
ILLUSTRATION BY CYNTHIA KITTLER.From San José, take a Costa Rica Green Airways charter plane to Cóbano, then a taxi to Santa Teresa.
ILLUSTRATION BY CYNTHIA KITTLER.“For bikinis, trunks, flip-flops, and boards, you go to Kina’s.”
COURTESY OF RAYO VERDE.Rent one of Rayo Verde’s villas and call in private chef Russell Taplin. “I trade him haircuts for vegan cocoa passion-fruit tarts.”
ILLUSTRATION BY CYNTHIA KITTLER.Wake up with House of Shakti yoga and get breakfast at Mantarraya. Or head to Indigena Café, which taps into local cacao culture with “a lot of love and knowledge.”
