When You Imagine Caribbean Costa Rica Beaches, Do You Think Christopher Columbus?
By now almost everybody is sick of winter and thinking about some place where shorts, not overcoats, can be worn. Costa Rica has become the destination of choice, in part, because of its reputation for being one of the most beautiful countries in the world. This small Central America country is only a couple of hours south of Florida and has spectacular tropical mountains and volcanoes, and some of the great beaches on the globe. Visitors come for its great surfing beaches, beach communities with daytime fun and adult nightlife, and deserted beaches where tropical mountains meet the shore.
Few vacationers realize its rich history or how it got its name. About a decade after discovering what is now the United States, Christopher Columbus returned and sailed south. His wooden craft took him below Limon where he named his discovery Costa Rica! The name means the rich coast and has stuck for more than 500 years.
Do not be misinformed. Columbus may have gotten here earlier but was not the last explorer. There are still new places for visitors to discover for themselves. Costa Rica has nearly 800 kilometers of Caribbean shoreline. Its eastern coast is still largely undeveloped compared to the Pacific side of the country and has a unique Caribbean flavor. This is Bob Marley country.
For an increasing number of adventurous souls, their Costa Rica vacation includes a visit to Tortuguero National Park. This is a remote reserve along the northern Caribbean Coast, initially formed to protect the ancient green sea turtle nesting grounds. Today it hosts the largest green marine turtle nesting beach on the planet. Tortuguero provides critical nesting areas over a 30 kilometer stretch of beaches for four of the seven sea turtle species and thousands of people go there annually to witness a real spectacle of nature.
Limon is typically the starting point to head north by boat or small aircraft to Tortuguero or along the Costa Rica Caribbean highway to great beaches south, including the beach where Columbus named the country. Limon is not a favorite vacation destination and is best considered as the place to go north or south. Heading south will take travelers to Puerto Viejo. This little place is very popular for surfers and a favorite Costa Rica surfing destination. Between November through April, it is often filled with surfers. The best-of-the-best head for the world-famous three-mile long La Salsa Brava wave. A short distance south beginners and intermediates can have lots of fun surfing at Playa Cocles.
About 25 miles south of Limon and a short distance north of Puerto Viejo is Cahuita, a very small, laid-back community with kilometer after kilometer of pristine beaches, some almost black and others pure white. September and October are the least-rainy months of the year and if you come around October 12 take in Carnaval at Limon, a week-long fiesta celebrating Columbus Day. Cahuita is popular for its wonderful reef snorkeling around its two shipwrecks. Not a lot of nightlife here so head a few miles south to Puerto Viejo.
Do not expect DisneyWorld here. When Columbus landed here 500 years ago, it was remote, wild, tropical. It remains remote and tropical. The sea are as pristine now as when first sailed. Marine turtles still nest on the deserted beaches, though in far smaller numbers. Think there is nothing left to discover here? Maybe. Maybe not. Not long ago scientists discovered a freshwater porpoise in a river that pours into the Caribbean here, but nowhere else in the country. Just offshore lies Costa Rica’s largest coral reef. Rent scuba equipment, and even get PADI certified, while on holiday. Or just take in the area’s fabulous wildlife: monkeys, sloths, macaws and hundreds of other kinds of birds.
Mr. Vic Krumm lives in beautiful Costa Rica and and has a lovely website Costa Rica Vacations. Look here to learn more about Costa Rica Beaches