Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [12]
White-water rafting on the Ríos Reventazón and Pacuare (Click here) is also a possibility as both rivers have sections with smoother runs that are family-approved. Note, however, that children must be at least nine years old, and even older for tougher runs.
For a taste of the exotic, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Volcán Arenal (Click here). Watching lava spew forth and light up the evening sky is sure to captivate even those with the shortest of attention spans.
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History
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LOST COSTA RICA
HEIRS OF COLUMBUS
NEW WORLD ORDER
THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE
COFFEE RICA
BANANA EMPIRE
BIRTH OF A NATION
THE AMERICAN EMPIRE
COSTA RICA TOMORROW
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LOST COSTA RICA
The coastlines and rainforests of Central America have been inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years. On the eve of European discovery some 500 years ago, an estimated 400,000 people were living in today’s Costa Rica, though sadly our knowledge about these pre-Columbian cultures is scant. Torrential rains and Spanish colonization washed the remains of lost civilizations away.
Unlike the massive pyramid complexes found throughout much of Latin America, the ancient towns and cities of Costa Rica (with the exception of Guayabo) vanished in the jungles, never to be seen again by the eyes of the modern world. However, tales of lost cities still survive in the oral histories of Costa Rica’s indigenous communities and there is hope among archaeologists that a great discovery lies in waiting. Considering that much of the country consists of inaccessible mountains and rainforests, perhaps these dreams aren’t so fanciful.
The origin of Earth – according to Bribrí and Cabécar creation myth – is the subject of the beautifully illustrated story When Woman Became Sea by Susan Strauss.
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HEIRS OF COLUMBUS
On his fourth and final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus was forced to drop anchor near present-day Puerto Limón after a hurricane damaged his ship. While waiting for repairs, Columbus ventured into the verdant terrain, and exchanged gifts with hospitable and welcoming chieftains. He returned from this encounter, claiming to have seen ‘more gold in two days than in four years in Española.’ Columbus dubbed the stretch of shoreline from Honduras to Panama as Veraguas, but it was his excited descriptions of costarrica, ‘the rich coast,’ that gave the region its lasting name. At least, that is how the popular story goes.
The reality is a bit more uncertain as the ship’s logs from the fourth voyage didn’t survive, and the only known record of the journey is a handwritten letter from Columbus to the Spanish Crown, which doesn’t actually refer to the ‘rich coast’ by name. A more likely origin for the costarrica moniker is Diego Gutiérrez, the first colonial governor of the territory, who used the phrase in a much later 1543 letter to the Spanish Crown. However, there is no indication whether he himself invented the term, or was simply relaying a common descriptor or even corrupting a local indigenous word.
Back to the story – anxious to claim its bounty, Columbus petitioned the Spanish Crown to have himself appointed governor. But by the time he returned to Seville, his royal patron Queen Isabella was on her deathbed, which prompted King Ferdinand to award the prize to Columbus’ rival, Diego de Nicuesa. Although Columbus became a very wealthy man, he never returned to the New World, and died in 1506 after being worn down by ill health and court politics.
To the disappointment of his conquistador (conqueror) heirs, the region was not abundant with gold, and the locals were considerably less than affable. Nicuesa’s first colony in present-day Panama was abruptly abandoned when tropical disease and warring tribes decimated its ranks.