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.