Southern Caribbean

Introducing Southern Caribbean

This is the heart and soul of Costa Rica’s Afro-Caribbean community, where Jamaicans brought here by United Fruit to build the backbone of the original banana republic learned to call this country home. For more than half a century, the communities of the southern Caribbean existed almost independent of the rest of the country, turning to subsistence farming and fishing when the banana plantations, and later cacao fincas, fell to devastating blights.

These Afro-Caribbean communities found good neighbors among the ancient indigenous groups, now encompassed by the nearby Cocles/KéköLdi, Talamanca Cabécar and Bribrí reserves. The two peoples, isolated from the goings-on of mainstream Costa Rica, exchanged the ancient wisdom of medicinal plants, agriculture and jungle survival. And thrived.

Though the racial borders fell in 1949, electricity, roads and phones all came late to this perfect stretch of beachfront property. The result of all this isolation is a culture still largely independent of everyday Costa Rica.

Inevitably, however, improved infrastructure and an expanding tourism industry are inexorably wearing away the cultural quirks that many folks come to experience. Puerto Viejo in particular has experienced an influx of North American and European transplants, starting with surfers but now including all kinds of folks looking for a change of pace. (And with this picture-perfect setting and low-key vibe, who can blame them?)

Not to worry, not yet anyway: the music of the islands is everywhere, reggae and calypso pouring from homes and businesses into the streets. The cuisine is extraordinary, where even the simplest rice-and-beans dish conjures flavors of Jamaica. And while most residents speak Spanish, a patois of English remains common, if a little bit difficult to decipher for those unused to it.

Last updated: Oct 20, 2009