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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 |
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| Gandoca
- Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge |
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Limón conjures up images of Costa Rica's palm-fringed Caribbean
coast beaches. 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 more than 2,000 meters on the northeastern flank of Turrialba
Volcano. Despite the rise in elevation from sea level to 3,820 meters
at the summit of Chirripó, 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 during 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..
Christopher Columbus, or Cristobal Colón as he is known in
Spanish, and his crew, are believed to be the first Europeans to lay
eyes on the shores and forest-covered mountains of Costa Rica. On
the 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 levels of rainfall in 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.
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.
Originally, the farms were worked by native peoples who had been captured
and forced 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 nearly
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.
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.
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.
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.
1) Barra del Colorado National Wildlife
Refuge
2) Tortuguero National Park
3) Braulio Carrillo National
Park
4) Cahuita National Park
5) Gandoca - Manzanillo National
Wildlife Refuge
6) La Amistad International Park
7) Hitoy - Cerere Biological Reserve
8) Chirripó National
Park
| Other
Points of Interest: |
1)Jungle canals north of Limón:
The so-called Canales de Tortuguero, or Tortuguero Canals, 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, the waterway passes through one of the few
mangrove areas on the Caribbean side of the country. The red mangroves
here are impressive, with prop roots dropping sometimes from five
meters or more above the water level. The overall height of the trees
reaches up more than 15 meters. Both here and along the length of
the canal system, you can observe a variety of waterfowl and other
birds that live in association with these habitats, including herons,
egrets, kingfishers, ospreys, jacanas, cormorants and anhingas.
Between the mangrove section and the start of the national park, nearly
50 kilometers further north, there is not much primary forest left
along the canal. However, you can observe the lifestyle of the inhabitants
along the way and try to spot sloths and iguanas anywhere 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
against the relentless advances of western colonization and it is
here that the greatest number of reservations has been established.
Most of the reserves are still not readily accessible or set up to
attend to tourists. However, with prior permission from the Talamanca
Association for Ecotourism and Conservation, whose office is located
in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a guided visit into the KéköLdi
Reserve can be arranged.
A morning walk through a portion of this small reserve can be an enlightening
experience as you learn about native lifestyles, customs and beliefs.
The two indigenous groups who live in the reserve, Bribri and Cabecar,
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 |
