With a wealth of experience in business and education, Stuart is to operations at Nereus Retreats what Jen – the two married young, back in 1996 – is to the school’s yoga and nutrition programs. A lifelong learner, Stuart’s multi-hyphenate career has made him uniquely well suited to the challenges of opening a world-class educational yoga and wellness center in the under-the-radar Osa Peninsula – and a passionate advocate for personal reinvention.

Born and raised in Scotland, Stuart graduated with a master’s in history from the University of St Andrew’s, and, following a stint on John Lewis’ graduate training program, returned to the sea-sprayed Scottish town to open and run 50-seater restaurant the North Point Café with Jen. After picking up an MBA from the University of Edinburgh in 2001, he spent his 30s in New York, developing a family business, before earning a master’s in education from Portland’s Concordia University, moving to Costa Rica, and following his heart towards the classroom, spending a decade as a much-loved secondary school teacher and school administrator.

A master of chronicling life in his adopted home, whether in prose or on GoPro, and an enthusiastic conservationist, Stuart is your man on lunar phases, tides and wildlife trivia. Watching monkeys makes him happy.