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Without having to travel over long distances, it is possible to visit countless beaches along the Pacific Coast within just a few days. Their sand is fine and white, but is sometimes also gray. The Parque National Manuel Antonio, Central America's most popular national park, attracts thousands of visitors from the central highlands like a magnet especially on weekends. The rich and varied plant and animal life of the coastal game and nature preserves, plus the vast protected maritime area with its magnificent coral reefs, astound and delight even the most fastidious nature lovers.
The region also features the almost untouched Chirripo National Park in the Cordillera de Talamanca. It iss named for Mt. Cerro Chirripo (3,820 in), the country's highest mountain and greatest challenge for Costa Rica's mountain climbers.
FROM TARCOLES TO QUEPOS
In addition to the beaches south of Puntarenas, Playa Tarcoles, near the fishing village of the same name, is the first Pacific beach to be reached from the capital. But the gray gravel beach is not the only reason for leaving the big city. The mangrove swamp that stretches 15 kilometers north to Punta Lotus is worth closer inspection. It is especially exciting to watch various types of coastal birds at ebb tide.
From Costanera Sur, the coastal road, there is a gravel road just beyond the Rio Cane Blanca that leads directly to Playa Punta Leone. Palm trees line the gray sand beach, which goes on for kilometers. Between July and December sea turtles crawl up onto the beach to lay their eggs.
In 1990, the beach saw a different kind of action when it served as the backdrop for a number of scenes in the film 1492, in which Gerard Depardieu starred as Christopher Columbus and Sigourney Weaver appeared as Queen Isabella. Within 10 weeks the film's producers spent US $8 million, and they employed 150 Indigenas to play the roles of the Indians encountered by Columbus on his historic voyage. Another 350 mostly white inhabitants helped build the scenery, including a cathedral and an entire Indian village.
The Playa de Jaco is not occupied by Indians, but rather by Josefinos who come out on weekends, and by surfers, backpackers and Canadian travel groups who come throughout the year. It is the nearest beach to San Jose and is one of the best developed beach and bathing facilities in the land. Jacb is especially attractive to young Costa Ricans, for whom this is Party Beach. Ticos also refer to this playa as Boom Boom Beach.
Not everyone would necessarily find the three-kilometer-long beach, with its palms, Indian almond trees and dark sand, attractive, since the dangerous offshore currents make the water unsafe for swimming. At high tide the beach is reduced to a narrow strip of sand, and the many hotels which have sprung up nearby have problems with their waste water disposal that can no longer be ignored. The private septic tanks built to serve the temporary needs of the hotels are now too small.
Avenida Pastor Diaz, the main street that runs parallel to the beach, is the town's only paved road. It contains banks, public telephones, a supermarket and bicycle and surfboard rental shops.
Surfers actually prefer the beaches south of Jaco, Tivives and Boca Barranca. Members of the international surfing elite, however, ride the waves of Jacb in the championships held here every year. In the evenings the action switches to the discotheques, La Central and Disco Club Los Tucanes. There is still no cinema. Jazz fans can enjoy their favorites during dinner in the restaurant of the El Jardin hotel. Other hotels also feature live entertainment during the peak season. There are accommodations in every category in Jaco, but they are more expensive than anywhere else on the Costa Rican Pacific coast.
Surfers can also find their mecca on the beaches to the south of Playas Hermosa, Estilleros Oeste and Este. Playa Hermosa (Beautiful Beach) stretches in a straight line for almost 10 kilometers and is best left to experienced surfers. A competition is also held at Hermosa every year in August. The pretty bay, with its turquoise-blue water, is not solely for the pleasure of those who shoot the curls; brown pelicans also bob on the waves. Delicious fresh fish is served in simple beach buts and bars.
The seven-kilometer-long beaches of Estilleros Oeste and Este are well-suited for surfing. Although they are only a few minutes distant from Costanera Sur, the beaches seem remote. In the north, tidal pools form at ebb tide, yielding many small - and sometimes also hand-sized rock fossils.
From this point the road heads inland and only returns to the Pacific coast at Quepos. Parrita, a small, dusty town surrounded by banana plantations, is built along the river of the same name. It is about a one-hour drive from Jac6. The origin of the town's name is curious: apparently there was a woman named Rita who was a postal worker there for many years. She was well known throughout the region, and when people from the neighboring villages wanted to send a letter or a package to the little village they would declare, Es par Rita! ("It's for Rita"). As a result, all female letter carriers in the town are now nicknamed Rita.
Today, Parrita is the commercial center for the huge 1,700-hectare ranch belonging to the United Fruit Company. Following its founding in 1895, the company planted thousands of African oil palms (Elaeis guineensis) along the road. The squat palms wave their feathery fronds in the sea breeze on either side of the narrow railroad bridge over the Rio Parrita. They are planted in straight lines with almost mathematical precision.
The intensive odor (to put it very diplomatically) seeping through every window betrays the presence of the nearby factory that manufactures cosmetics and machine oil. The workers live in geometrically arranged settlements, some of which can be seen from the street. The wooden huts (some of which are on stilts) are painted turquoise blue or yellow and have wide country-style verandahs. This incongruous settlement, with its swaying palm trees, never fails to grab the attention of motorists driving past. |
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