Puntarenas

Ciudad de Puntarenas Distrito de Puntarenas
Nickname(s): La perla del Pacífico, El Puerto
Ciudad de Puntarenas Location in the province of Puntarenas
Coordinates:
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Puntarenas
Canton	Puntarenas
Incorporated	September 17, 1858
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	Agnes Gomez Franceschi (PLN)
Area
• Total	10 km2 (3.9 sq mi)
• Land	30 km2 (11.6 sq mi)
• Water	64.7 km2 (25 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population (2003)
• Total	10,406
• Demonym	Puntarenense
Time zone	Central (UTC-6)
Area code(s)	+ 506
Website	http://www.munipuntarenas.go.cr/

Puntarenas (Pointsands, from "punta arenas", or "sand point" in Spanish) is the capital and largest city in the province Puntarenas, Costa Rica, at the Pacific coast. The eponymous and oddly shaped province has its largest section in the South, far from the capital.

Some 100,000 live in the city and close towns. With beaches on the Pacific Ocean, it also attracts many tourists, especially surfers. It is also a possible stopover point for the touristy Monteverde, further inland.

Its port, Caldera, is one of the main ports in the country. Also, regularly scheduled ferries carry vehicles from Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula,^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Climate 3 Climate 4 External links 5 References

History

First known as Villa Bruselas in colonial times, Puntarenas was discovered by Hernán Ponce de León in 1519. Despite the use of the Gulf of Nicoya as an entryway to Costa Rica's inland territory, the port of Puntarenas was not developed until 1840 when coffee production in the highlands reached exportable volumes. In 1845 the Congress of the Republic declared Puntarenas a duty free port (with the exception of Cognac and hard liquor). Originally, the coffee was brought to port in oxcarts via a trail through the mountains. In 1879, a stretch of railroad track was completed which connected Puntarenas with the town of Esparza (one of the country's earliest Spanish settlements, founded in 1554, a decade before the Central Valley began to be colonized) where the oxcart trail came out of the mountains. Eventually, the railroad was built all the way through to San José and service was inaugurated in 1910.

With the railroad connection to the Central Valley, the Pacific port's activities continued to be a major part of the region's economy throughout the 20th century. However, due to the aging and deterioration of the port facilities and the need to accommodate the much larger vessels of modern shipping fleets, a new port was constructed in the 1980s to the south of Puntarenas. The site chosen was Caldera, where ships had anchored during colonial times.

Climate

Puntarenas is generally hotter than the Costa Rican Central Valley, with daytime highs ranging from 30°C to 35°C in the coldest/hottest months, respectively.^[2]

Climate

External links

• Puntarenas Province | Costa Rica | Beaches, sun, resorts, lodging, service, events and lifestyle
• Sitio Oficial Comercial de Puntarenas - Costa Rica
• www.radiopuntarenas.net La Radio Digital de Puntarenas

References