Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): Jan. 22

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” – Moorish proverb

Our first stop along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica is the town of Quepos, considered the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park. The town's unique blend of beauty, history, wildlife and culture have combined to create an idyllic rainforest community, which draws international visitors seeking adventure, those wanting to fish for marlin or those visitors that just want to relax on the beach. We plan to do a little exploring and a lot of relaxing.

On our way to Quepos we crossed the Tarcoles River, the bridge at this point is referred to as Crocodile Bridge. It got its nickname because below the bridge is one of the largest populations of crocodiles in Central America. It was a great place to stop and stretch our legs...I don't know if I've ever seen crocodiles before, although we've seen lots of alligators while cruising. Definitely not a river I'd want to play in.

The town of Quepos is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the area in the colonial era. It was an active place back then, but almost forgotten until the early 1900s when banana plantations migrated to the Pacific. By the mid 1930s, and until late 1950s, the United Fruit Company produced and exported large amounts of bananas from the area, bringing electricity, telephones, a port-life, and a lot of people from all over the country and from Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, turning the area into a melting pot of different cultures and backgrounds. Today Quepos continues to be a melting pot for Central American cultures and nationalities.

In the 1960s, Palm Oil plantations and commercial fishing replaced banana plantations as the main economic focus of the area, and since late 1980s tourism has become the most important income for the town of Quepos and the surrounding area. Although there are millions of palm trees still in the area.

We stopped for lunch at a little soda called El Cuacimo. Sodas are small, family owned places that serve typical Costa Rican food at a very good price. The food was wonderful and we like local places.