South of Dominical, as far as the village of Uvita18 kilometers distant), numerous beaches face the ocean, some with houses or tiny farms, places that will someday become villages. One of the prettiest on this part of the coast is called Punta Dominical. A high point juts out into the ocean, with cliffs and surf reminiscent of California is Big Sur or Spains Costa Brava. Below a small hotel cliffs and rocks catch the full force of the oceans strength as waves crash and send cascades of white foam flying high in the air.
Most desirable property along this coast seems to be owned exclusively by foreigners, many of whom dont appear to be particularly eager to sell and, when they do, not at bargain prices. Occasionally a beach- front property can be found at highly inflated prices. Affordable property is found away from the beach, where Ticos have land for sale. I looked at one parcel in Uvita, about 1 kilometer from the beach, five hectares (twelve acres) of land with a comfortable house for half of what it would cost near Dominical. There were many fruit trees and enough pasture for keeping a horse or two.
A longtime resident named Lillian said, We looked all over Costa Rica before settling on Uvita. We found a ten-hectare plot up on the mountainside. Not only do we have a gorgeous view but there are also six beautiful waterfalls on the property. For me its like having my own national park. She added, We are holding it in trust for our two granddaughters, as a future for them. A difficulty with small communities such as Uvita is a lack of enough residents to form an effective community organization. Local residents hold informal meetings, but not enough attend to get much done. (Most unimproved properties belong to absentee owners.) This is due to change, however, since the pavement now connects with the Pan- American Highway at Palmar, just a few miles south. Rapid development is under way as some prime land is now available for development. A problem with lightly populated areas like Dominical or Uvita is the lack of sophisticated medical care. Often a resident doctor in the village can handle emergencies, but for serious problems the nearest emergency clinic in this region is in Platanillo, about 13 kilometers from Dominical, or the hospital in San Isidro, some 45 kilometers distant. Uvitas medical needs are taken care of in Palmar Norte.
This problem of medical care was brought home to me on a recent trip. As I was driving from Dominical to San Isidro, a campesino ran out into the road and flagged me down. His hand was bleeding from an accident, and he needed to get to the hospital. I had to act as an ambulance driver not knowing whether to go top speed and risk killing us both or to slow down while my patient bled to death. He was the calm one, as he insisted on trying to show me his wound and describing in minute detail what had happened. Fortunately, we both survived.

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