I stayed in the 'Little House' and it was great. Perhaps the highest praise I can give is simply to say that the description in the listing is accurate. The Little House was clean and well maintained including tight construction and screening on the windows with integrity. These things seem more important when you are backed up against the jungle. On the first morning, I saw a small garden snake come out of the brush and climb the outside wall looking for a way in through the screen in the window! I don't think there was a way in, but I shooed it away anyway. It may have been interested in the vocal gecko (small lizard) that seemed to share the house with me. Once, upon turning on the light in the middle of the night to read, the gecko came out on top of one of the walls and seemed to scold me with its vocalization, perhaps for waking it.

The energy here is also really good because of the other guests and the opportunity to interact a great deal in the communal kitchen. While the house has a sink and offered some cups and dishes, and a screened porch, to use for eating a snack or a meal, it doesn't have any cooking. However, the communal kitchen is perfect for that if you wish to cook.

Nathalie was very helpful. She has help running the place, which is constantly being cleaned and maintained. She knows the village and much about things to do and how to get here and there.

Understand, Sarteneja is remote. It is reachable by roads that are dirt and extremely difficult because of potholes and sugar cane litter (you travel through miles of sugar cane fields in one spot to get here). There is bus service, but learn from my experience: the bus doesn't run on Sundays. If you read that there is 'sometimes' a bus on a Sunday, assume that it is not running. There is also the 'Thunderbolt' boat that offers a very viable alternative.

The village will tug at your heart. There is no traffic. You will need a bicycle to go back and forth, so plan on budgeting for renting one from Nathalie. Whether day or night, you will only hear the sound of tires crunching on the gravel when you ride into town and about town; maybe a rooster crowing, a dog barking or someone's stereo if it is light out. The town has stores, including a 'super mercado', and a handful of bars and restaurants. This is a real getaway. Enjoy.