Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
General Information:
Welcome to Puerto Limon Costa Rica, the beautiful caribbean province. If you are visting Costa Rica by cruise ship, this is a great source of information for planning your shore excursion. Greenway Nature Tours offers the best shore trips for small groups and with a perzonalized service. Click here for a full list of SHORE EXCURSIONS IN COSTA RICA
Climate: Limón
conjures up images of Costa Rica's coconut-fringed Caribbean coast.
Although the province does indeed extend the length of this coast
-- from the mouth of the San Juan River in the north, to the mouth
of the Sixaola River on the Panamanian border -- the southern
sector includes a large area of mountainous terrain that stretches
up to the country's highest peak, Mt. Chirripó, in the
Talamanca Cordillera. Likewise, the provincial boundaries also
climb to over 2,000 m. elevation on the northeastern flank of
Turrialba Volcano. Puerto Limon Costa Rica
Despite the rise in elevation from
sea level to 3,820 meters, Limón is the only one of Costa
Rica's seven provinces to be entirely on the Caribbean side of
the Continental Divide, and thus its weather is directly affected
by the flow of warm, moist air brought in off this body of water
by the northeast trade winds. The result is a climate with no
pronounced dry season, even though it does tend to be less rainy
in the months of March, April, September, and October, and typically
rains the most in June, July, August, November, and December.
The lowland regions remain warm and humid year-round, while the
higher portions are both cooler and wetter.
History: Christopher Columbus, or Cristobal Colón
as he is known in Spanish, and his crew were the first Europeans
to lay eyes on the shores and forest-covered mountains of Costa
Rica. On the great Admiral's fourth and final voyage to the Americas,
in 1502, he anchored near what is now the port city and provincial
capital of Limón. His brief dealings with the native people
he met on the mainland were apparently good-natured, yet this
benevolent interaction was not to be the norm during the centuries
to come.
Spanish settlement of Costa Rica came not from the Atlantic but
from the Pacific side of the country. Given the mountainous barrier
between the Central Valley and the Caribbean lowlands, as well
as the dense forests and high rainfall characteristic of the latter
region, would-be colonists were faced with a real challenge. The
periodic expeditions organized with, at least in part, the purpose
of establishing permanent settlements in the Caribbean region
inevitably met with failure. Their cruel treatment of the indigenous
people did not help the Spaniards in their objective either, since
the natives in the area wholeheartedly resisted colonization.
Thus, throughout the three centuries of the colonial period, while
the Central Valley and northern Pacific portions of Costa Rica
were being progressively dominated by settlers from Spain, the
Atlantic wilderness continued to be an untamed frontier. Puerto
The one small exception was the Valley of Matina where a number
of farms existed for the purpose of growing cacao -- the source
of cocoa and chocolate, which are produced from the seeds. Although
it was a long and difficult journey from the Central Valley to
Matina, near the Caribbean coast, the merchants from Cartago who
invested in the cacao farms considered it a worthy enterprise
given the otherwise limited opportunities for commercial trade
with other colonies. Puerto Limon Costa
Rica
Originally, the farms were worked by native people who had been
captured and put into slavery. This system met with problems,
including legal ones because the authorities officially forbid
such treatment of the native population. The solution was the
purchase of African slaves from elsewhere in the region. Each
worker was given a certain number of plants to tend, and often,
after several years service, was given his freedom.
This agricultural activity persisted for about 150 years, but
never really contributed significantly to the country's economic
progress, and by the time of independence from Spain in 1821 had
been all but abandoned. It is interesting to note that owing to
the scarcity of coinage in colonial times, cacao beans were sometimes
used in lieu of currency, or as a basis for bartering. Puerto
The real opening of Costa Rica's eastern frontier did not come
until the second half of the 19th century. In 1867, the site for
a Caribbean port was chosen, and it is said that growing on the
spot was an old lemon tree, or limón. Puerto
Limon Costa Rica
To make the port accessible from the interior of the country,
the government decided to construct a railroad and contracted
the services of the North American entrepreneur, Minor Keith,
in exchange for 300,000 hectares of land in the Caribbean lowlands,
plus other benefits. Puerto Limon Costa
Rica
Keith established banana plantations on the land and brought in
Afro-American workers from Jamaica to tend the plantations and
build the railroad, thus changing not only the physical environment
-- which for thousands of years had been rain forest -- but also
the cultural milieu of the region.
Other Points of Interest: Puerto Limon Costa
Rica
1) Canals north of Limón: The so-called Canales
de Tortuguero are the result of a dredging operation carried out
in the 1960's to link a series of naturally occurring lagoons
and river courses, thus permitting inland navigation between the
city of Limón and the northeastern coastal villages. Prior
to the opening of the canal in 1969, transportation of people
and products to and from these villages was in dugout vessels
that ventured out the river mouths to the open sea and then up
or down the coast. The risk inherent in this method of transportation
was greatly reduced once the canal system became functional.
With the growing numbers of tourists interested in visiting Tortuguero
National Park, this route has become increasingly more transited,
yet it still retains much of its scenic quality. Shortly after
leaving the dock at Moín, you pass through one of the few
mangrove areas to be found on the Caribbean side of the country.
The red mangroves here are impressive with their prop roots dropping
sometimes from five meters or more above the water level and the
overall heights of the trees reaching to over 15 meters. Both
here and along the length of the waterway system you can observe
a variety of birds that live in association with riverine habitats,
including herons, egrets, kingfishers, ospreys, jacanas, cormorants,
and anhingas.
Between the mangrove section and the start of the national park,
nearly 50 km. further north, there is not much intact forest left
along the canal. However, you can observe the lifestyle of the
inhabitants along the way and try to spot sloths and iguanas in
any places where there are still trees.
2) KéköLdi Indigenous Reserve: Costa
Rica's indigenous population is relatively small and disperse.
The Talamanca mountains provided the last refuge for the native
people from the relentless advances of western colonization and
it is here that the greatest number of reservations have been
established. Most of the reserves are still not readily accessible
or set up to attend to tourists. However, with prior permission
obtained at the ATEC (Talamanca Association for Ecotourism and
Conservation) office in Puerto Viejo, a guided visit can be arranged
to the KéköLdi Reserve. Puerto Limon Costa Rica
A morning walk through a portion of this small reserve is an enlightening
experience as you learn about native lifestyles, customs, and
beliefs. The two indigenous groups, Bribri and Cabecar, that live
in the reserve are descendants of people who have lived in this
rain forest region for thousands of years and have developed an
environmentally sound approach to life in such conditions. Their
way of life in harmony with nature provides a sharp contrast to
the bulldozer and chainsaw mentality so evident outside the reserve.
Puerto Limon Costa Rica
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