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Above: Port of Puntarenas, 1920 Left: Aerial shot of Puntarenas, 1940
by José Gerardo Suárez Monge and Karl Kahler
PUNTARENAS
A Brief History
A passion for historical photos
P
CR HISTORY IN PICS
Aerial shot of the tip of Puntarenas, 1980
P
untarenas is Costa Rica’s sixth province and its largest, at 11,266 sq. km. It encompasses most of the Pacific Coast, stretching from the Gulf of Nicoya to Punta Burica, on the border with Panama. The capital is the city of Puntarenas, which is situated on a spit of land several kilometers long and 400 meters wide, extending into the Gulf of Nicoya. The province of Puntarenas was inhabited by several pre-Colombian cultures, including the Chorotega, the Huetares, the Quepoa, the Bruncas, the nation of Coctú and the Buricas. The city of Puntarenas, known as “the pearl of the Pacific,” was the country’s primary port for much of its history, and it was declared a “Balneario Nacional,” a nationally recognized seaside port, in 1940.
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Costa Rica’s Pacific coast was first explored by the Spanish under Juan Ponce de León, and later, in 1522, by Gil González Dávila, who traveled the entire coastline from the Golfo Dulce to the Golfo de Nicoya, and penetrated as far inland as Nicoya and Nicaragua. In 1524, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded a Spanish settlement, the village of Bruselas, near the current Esparza, but it was abandoned in 1527. In 1529, Juan de Cavallón y Arboleda arrived in Chomes by the Nicaragua-Nicoya road, and he established the Real de la Ceniza, a Spanish garrison that served as a base for exploring the country as far as the Central Valley. In 1556, the second Spanish church in Costa Rica was built at Chomes. The name “Punta de Arena” (“Sand
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hotos are provided courtesy of José Gerardo Suárez Monge, author of “San José: 280 Years of History.” Suárez is a professional photographer and graphic designer with a degree in electrical engineering from the Tecnológico in Cartago, but his passion is collecting and analyzing historical photos — he has over 14,000. He has six books for sale, which are available at Librería Lehmann and the University of Costa Rica bookstore, or by calling 7062-3086 or 8794-7679.
