Travel Blog Costa Rica

Guanacaste is the Northwestern province of Costa Rica starting at the Nicaraguan border and following the Pacific Coast all the way down across two thirds of the Nicoya Peninsula. The east borders with the Province of Alajuela and the south with the Province of Puntarenas. Guanacaste did not always belong to Costa Rica. On July 24th in 1825 after the independence from Spain it was annexed, still celebrated every year with a National Holiday. With a population around 270,000 inhabitants it’s the least densely populated province of Costa Rica. From November till April Guanacaste has high temperatures and little rain, creating a dry heat that many tourists, most of them North Americans, come to enjoy. Guanacaste is the province of pristine beaches, green pastures, hills, rivers and tropical dry forests. Before the Spaniards came to Guanacaste in the 16th century, the area was populated by several indiginous tribes, making a living through agricultural activities and trading among each other. Some remains of this Pre-Colombian history can be found in the museums in San Jose. The names of the tribes are kept alive in geographical names, such as Nicoya, Abangares and Orotina. The name Guanacaste derives from the native word ‘quahnacaztlan’ meaning ‘place near the ear trees’. The Guanacaste tree, with its ear-shaped seeds, is the National Tree of Costa Rica. Some of Costa Rica’s finest, traditionally made pottery, with clear native influences is made in Guanacaste. Originating from a mixture of Spanish colonists, native Indians and African slaves, the people of Guanacaste form a special ethnic group inside Costa Rica. Festivities evolve around its agricultural past where bull fights and horse parades are very popular. On the eastern border with the Province of Alajuala the mountain ranges contain several volcanoes, with Rincon de la Vieja being the most famous one. Guanacaste is home of several National Parks; Santa Rosa, Guanacaste, Palo Verde, Barra Honda and the marine park Marino de Baulas de Guanacaste – Tamarindo. More than 125 miles of coastline provide optimal conditions for sunbathing, swimming, sailing, sportfishing, snorkeling and surfing. Numerous resorts have some of the best golf courses of Costa Rica. Popular beach destinations are: Playa Conchal, Playa Grande, Tamarindo, Paraiso, Nosara and Samara. The easiest way to reach the Province of Guanacaste is by air. Many tourists prefer the fast expanding International Airport of Liberia over Juan Santamaria International Airport in San José. Most of the popular beaches are connected with San Jose through local flights. By road the Pan-American highway is the main artery. From Puntarenas on the mainland ferries cross the Gulf of Nicoya to Playa Naranjo and Paqeura on the peninsula.

The largest province is Puntarenas and has a peculiar shape that covers the south tip of the Nicoya peninsula and forms a narrow strip along the Pacific Coast all the way to the Panamanian border in the South of Costa Rica. The high mountains on the west side of the Central Valley kept this region very isolated and limited colonist settlements to be set up close to shore. The Nicoya bay provided easy access for ships coming from the North and the South and many settlements were born along the long coastline of Puntarenas. Archeological finds prove that the Puntarenas region was inhabited long before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century. Numerous indigenous tribes prospered on the shores, living of the offerings of the ocean and the fertile inlands. At low tide shellfish could be harvested and the many sea turtles coming ashore provided seasonally an abundance of meat and eggs. The region of Palmar presents us with one of the biggest riddles of Costa Rica’s pre-Columbian history; the stone spheres. Measuring up to two and half meters in diameter, these gigantic granite stones still puzzle prominent scientific minds. Neither production nor purpose has been explained. Although the South part of Puntarenas remained isolated for a long time, eventually the Indigenous population and the mysterious spheres were put aside by the vast deforestation to create banana plantations. In 1814 the city of Puntarenas was declared a tax free port to stimulate economic development in the area. The only connection with the Central Valley were trails traveled by ox carts. The coffee industry in the central valley flourished and producers were looking for business opportunities to export their product. Although the export was limited at first to Chili, Puntarenas became the only direct link with the European market thanks to the efforts of a British entrepreneur William Le Lacheur. His fleet of merchant ships exported coffee directly to England. In 1910 the railroad that connected San Jose with the port of Puntarenas was ready and now products from then on, product and people from the Central Valley had easy access to the Pacific Coast. The city of Puntarenas profited the most from the economic boom. The Southeastern part of the province remained untouched till the 1930’s when bulldozers made way for the extensive banana plantations which flourished only for a decade or two before the diseases and the price crises on the global agricultural market hit severely. In this short period surfaced the banana cities of Quepos and Golfito. The part of the Pan-American highway between San Jose and the Panamanian border was constructed in the 1940’s and is an important traffic artery opening the South part of Puntarenas for visitors. Today the Province of Puntarenas contains the major tourist attractions of Costa Ricas. From the beautiful beaches in the tip of the Nicoya peninsula Paquere, Tambor, Cobana, Montezuma, Cauya and Cabo Blanco, through Puntarenas, Jaco, Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, all the way to Golfito.

Costa Rica’s province of Heredia, stretches from the Central Valley in the south, all the way up to the border with Nicaragua in the north. Heredia covers 2,657 km2 and has a population of more than 375,000 inhabitants. The borderline between the provinces of Heredia and Alajuela in the west is a straight line going up to the Nicaraguan border. On the east most of the borderline of Heredia with the Province of Limon is naturally formed by the Chirripo River. After the first Spanish settlement in Costa Rica was founded in Cartago, settlers came to province of Heredia and founded the village of Barva, named after the volcano on which hills it was located. Development was limited to the southern part of the volcano. The fertile volcanic soil of this part of Heredia allowed plantations to prosper. The near by Sarapiqui river was used for transportation of agricultural products. The Barva region stayed isolated until the 1960’s. Costa Rica’s province of Heredia houses two National Parks: the Barva section of the Braulio Carillo National Park and the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. Other attractions in Heredia form the famous, active Poas Volcano and the Sarapiqui area, a birdwatcher’s paradise and favored destination for white water rafting. Unique for Costa Rica are the class 4 and 5 rapids, which allow families with children to enjoy a thrilling ride, starting in La Virgin. Downstream on the Sarapiqui River you can take a more quiet boat trip to the Rio Sucio (Dirty River) to experience the extremely rich wildlife in this part of Heredia. La Selva Biological Station is one of the oldest and most respected research sites of Costa Rica. More than 50 universities in Costa Rica and the United States of America, joined in the Organization for Tropical Studies operate La Selva in Heredia and two other ones: Las Cruces (on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica near the Panamanian border) and Palo Verde (within the Palo Verde National Park in the province of Guanacaste). La Selva protected a vast area of primary tropical rain forest in a part of Heredia that was widely deforested for agricultural purposes. Heredia’s Sarapiqui region hosts more than 440 species of birds (which is more than 50% of all birds in Costa Rica), more than 70 species of bats, 1850 species of plant flora. The province of Heredia is easily accessible. From San Jose a multitude of busses leave towards the city of Heredia, and a variety of tours are offered including transportation to the Poas Volcano, coffee plantations close to Heredia and the La Paz waterfalls. From the bus terminal Del Caribe comfortable public buses leave to other destinations in Heredia, such as Sarapiqui.