I’m Mary Johnson, 33, and I came to Jaco to thaw out a long winter and learn how to breathe again. I checked into a Stylish Jaco Beach Airbnb Apartment and the week found a rhythm fast. Street vendors fanned grills, smoke curling through the fronds; mornings were soft and gray and then bright as…

My name’s James Smith, 28. I booked Jaco Beach on a whim and a weather app—sun icons everywhere. I checked into a Modern Airbnb Vacation Apartment in Jaco Beach and dropped my bag like it was the end of a sentence. Mornings were soft and gray before the sun lifted and the sand warmed slick…