Apothefinca
An off-grid farm and creative sanctuary in southern Nicaragua, where writing, nature and belonging come together.
An off-grid farm and creative sanctuary in southern Nicaragua.
A place to write, make things, wander, listen, rest — and remember what becomes possible when we give our creative lives some room.
Apothefinca is the real landscape of Lucy Lowes Paget’s The Home Tree — and a place where writers, artists and curious people are invited to come and make space for their own work.
A PLACE TO RETURN TO
Apothefinca grew slowly.
What began as a piece of land became a home, a farm, a garden, a gathering place — and the landscape in which The Home Tree was written.
At its centre stands an enormous Guanacaste tree.
The Home Tree.
I have written beneath her, sought refuge beneath her, listened beneath her and returned to her again and again when I couldn't see my way forward.
Now I invite other people to do the same.
THE HOME TREE IS REAL
The Home Tree is real - and the heading of the book by Lucy Lowes Paget, Apothefinca’s founder.
The Home Tree stands at the heart of Apothefinca. She is a big beautiful Guanacaste tree. Her branches stretch over the house and garden, alive with birds, monkeys, insects and the shifting sounds of the forest.
Lucy’s book, The Home Tree —is a story about belonging, creativity, love, loss and learning to trust the direction of your own life.
The book grew from this place.
And the life of the book continues here.
COME AND STAY
A few times each year, we welcome a small number of people to Apothefinca for Home Tree creative retreats.
Some come with a book they are writing. Some bring paints, notebooks, cameras or half-formed ideas. Some arrive without knowing exactly what they want to make.
You don't need to call yourself a writer or an artist.
You only need the sense that your creative life could use some attention.
There is gentle structure, companionship and support — but also long stretches of unclaimed time.
Time beneath the tree.
Time at your desk.
Time walking the land, swimming in the ocean, watching butterflies in the garden or following an idea simply because it interests you.
The intention is not to produce as much as possible while you are here.
It is to leave with something more lasting:
a renewed relationship with your own creative practice.
LIFE AT APOTHEFINCA
Life here follows the rhythms of the land.
Mornings begin with birds and howler monkeys. Parakeets cross the sky at dusk. Mango, lime, cashew, guayaba and nispero grow around the farm. Bees make honey. Chickens wander where they please.
We grow what we can, eat food made here and nearby, and live largely off-grid.
It isn't a polished resort.
It is a living place.
Wild in places. Beautiful in unexpected ones. Always changing.
And there is almost always somewhere quiet to sit with a notebook.
