Limon

A peek at Limon's beaches.

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.

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.

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.

Today, Limon offers a relaxed, barefoot kind of beach experience, enriched with the sounds and smells of Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast influenced by the African culture. Limon is ideal for a more humble type of beach experience in Costa Rica...