Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [296]
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QUEPOS
Located just 7km from the entrance to Manuel Antonio, the small town of Quepos serves as the gateway to the national park, as well as a convenient port of call for travelers in need of goods and services. Although the Manuel Antonio area was rapidly and irreversibly transformed following the ecotourism boom, Quepos has largely remained an authentic Tico town. Exuding a traditional Latin American charm that is absent from so much of the central Pacific, Quepos is a low-key alternative to the tourist-packed gringo trail not far beyond.
While most visitors to the Manuel Antonio area prefer to stay outside Quepos, accommodations are generally cheaper in town, though you will need to organize transportation to both the national park and the beaches. However, Quepos can be an appealing place to stay, especially since it’s home to a burgeoning restaurant scene that belies its small size. Quepos is also gridded with easy-to-walk streets, which provides the opportunity to interact with the friendly locals, who have thus far weathered the storm of change with cheerfulness and optimism.
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History
The town’s name was derived from the indigenous Quepoa, a subgroup of the Brunka (Boruca), who inhabited the area at the time of the Spanish conquest. As with many indigenous populations across the region, the Quepoa were quickly decimated by newly introduced European diseases. By the end of the 19th century, no pure-blooded Quepoa were left, and the area proceeded to be colonized by farmers from the highlands.
Quepos first came to prominence as a banana-exporting port in the early 20th century, though crops declined precipitously in subsequent decades due to disease and labor issues. African oil palms, which currently stretch toward the horizon in dizzying rows around Quepos, soon replaced bananas as the major local crop, though unfortunately they generated a lot less employment for the locals.
The future, on the other hand, is looking bright for locals as foreign visitors are coming to the Manuel Antonio area by the boatload, and more people means more jobs in the area’s rapidly expanding tourism industry. The opening of the Pez Vela Marina during the life of this book will have profound effects on this humble town, though questions of sustainability and the need for balanced growth continue to be fiercely debated in the local media.
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Orientation
Downtown Quepos is a small checkerboard of dusty streets that are lined with a mix of local- and tourist-oriented shops, businesses, markets, restaurants and cafes. The town loses its well-ordered shape as it expands outward, but the sprawl is kept relatively in check by the mountains to the east and the water to the west.
Southeast of the town center is the brand-new Pez Vela Marina, a shimmering jewel of architectural prowess that – to be frank – seems a bit out of place in drowsy Quepos. In 2010 the marine slips opened up to the public with much fanfare, though it will still be a few years before the construction subsides. The subsequent phase will include large residential communities, shopping complexes and boutique hotels, which may eventually reshift the town’s orientation.
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Information
Both Banco de San José and Coopealianza have 24-hour ATMs on the Cirrus and Plus systems. Other banks will all change US dollars and traveler’s checks.
Books2Go (2777-1754, 8371-3476; tours2go@racsa.co.cr; 10am-6pm) Susan runs a quaint little bookstore that also serves as the travelers’ meeting place. You can post messages, store your bags, burn photos to CDs, use the internet (₡1000 per hour), or just hang out and read a good book.
Hospital Dr Max Teran Vals (2777-0200) A hospital that provides emergency medical care for the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area. It’s on the Costanera Sur en route to the airport. However, this hospital doesn’t have a trauma center and seriously injured patients are evacuated