But Lewis quickly realized bigger was better. It turns out the luxury has an environmental impact as well. The lodge annually nets around half a million dollars, which has allowed Lewis to build a school for local children. The Lapa Rios workers are well-paid, and they ve become environmentalists, recently taking the extraordinary action of upbraiding Costa Rica s president for allowing continued logging on the Osa. So it hardly matters, Lewis says, if his definition of an eco-lodge is vague.
Comfort attracts guests.
Or maybe modesty does. The most beautiful place on the Osa is Drake Bay. The wild, clear scythe of beach stretches for miles, nearly empty. A few thousand acres, or the ripple effect of a few well-meaning lodges, won t save the Osa. Real eco-tourism is local.