The Nicoya Peninsula
The Nicoya Peninsula is another little jewel south of Guanacaste. Well, in the map it looks as part of it but in reality it belongs to the province of Puntarenas.
Due to its remoteness to the main land, cattle and land products had to be "shipped" out across the gulf of Nicoya to reach the mainland at Puntarenas.
Those days there were no roads just horse or cart trails. Nowadays frequent ferries takes you from Puntarenas to Paquera or Playa Naranjo in about one and a half hour.
Roads that connect the peninsula to Guanacaste are also few and very basic, at present they are all unpaved. During the rainy season ask the villagers or the local police station "fuerza publica" about road conditions, they continually change.
If coming in by ferry means an extra half to an hour waiting time (there are ferries every 2 hrs. from 6.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.), you will be rewarded with a nice, pleasant and refreshing cruise across the Gulf of Nicoya.
Seagulls will escort you along the way to "el Puerto Paquera" where a paved road going south will take you through its village and then on to Tambor and Cobano. From now on it's dirt road all the way to Montezuma, Cabuya and Cabo Blanco or west for Malpais, Santa Teresa, Manzanillo.
The peninsula offers some long, large and wide beaches with some isolated caves, natural pools and tucked away strips of sand all for yourself to enjoy. Rivers and streams pour their water into ponds just cool enough to refresh your body and soul and. to wash the salt off your body too!
Thanks to its remoteness and difficult accessibility the peninsula has remained mostly unspoiled. Apart from one big resort in Tambor the majority of hotels are family owned or runned by the owners themselves. In some areas like Montezuma there is no space to build (thanks God for that!) but in others like Santa Teresa and Manzanillo, hotels, villas, restaurants, small shopping malls and "pulperias" (grocery store) are slowly spreading along the coast.
The beauty of it all is that whe have been appointed La Reserva Biologica Absoluta de Cabo Blanco as our Guardian Angel.
Due to its remoteness to the main land, cattle and land products had to be "shipped" out across the gulf of Nicoya to reach the mainland at Puntarenas.
Those days there were no roads just horse or cart trails. Nowadays frequent ferries takes you from Puntarenas to Paquera or Playa Naranjo in about one and a half hour.
Roads that connect the peninsula to Guanacaste are also few and very basic, at present they are all unpaved. During the rainy season ask the villagers or the local police station "fuerza publica" about road conditions, they continually change.
If coming in by ferry means an extra half to an hour waiting time (there are ferries every 2 hrs. from 6.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.), you will be rewarded with a nice, pleasant and refreshing cruise across the Gulf of Nicoya.
Seagulls will escort you along the way to "el Puerto Paquera" where a paved road going south will take you through its village and then on to Tambor and Cobano. From now on it's dirt road all the way to Montezuma, Cabuya and Cabo Blanco or west for Malpais, Santa Teresa, Manzanillo.
The peninsula offers some long, large and wide beaches with some isolated caves, natural pools and tucked away strips of sand all for yourself to enjoy. Rivers and streams pour their water into ponds just cool enough to refresh your body and soul and. to wash the salt off your body too!
Thanks to its remoteness and difficult accessibility the peninsula has remained mostly unspoiled. Apart from one big resort in Tambor the majority of hotels are family owned or runned by the owners themselves. In some areas like Montezuma there is no space to build (thanks God for that!) but in others like Santa Teresa and Manzanillo, hotels, villas, restaurants, small shopping malls and "pulperias" (grocery store) are slowly spreading along the coast.
The beauty of it all is that whe have been appointed La Reserva Biologica Absoluta de Cabo Blanco as our Guardian Angel.