Where Are We??


Although it sometimes seems that everyone on earth has heard of the wondrous country called Costa Rica, many are a bit puzzled by where we are. So a few facts:

1. Costa Rica is not an island!

2. It is part of Central American, that weirdly shaped "isthmus" connecting North and South America, although its peaceful democratic history and relatively high standard of living set it apart from the stereotypical Central American country. (And since microchips and other high tech exports now rival the traditional tropical fruit exports, it's doubly unfair to call us a Banana Republic.)

3. The capital city is San José, not San Juan. It is only a 2 1/2 hour flight from Miami, but a universe away culturally.

4. The village of Cahuita is on Costa Rica's beautiful Southern Caribbean coast; it is 43 km south of Limón and 13 km north of Puerto Viejo. The drive from San José to Cahuita takes between 3 and 4 hours.

Here's where we are:

Where in the world is Costa Rica?


The wonderful (and free) Google Earth program provides a more dramatic view of the Southern Caribbean coast. On the map below, the yellow pushpin marks the location of the two lots offered for sale on the site. Just behind it, almost hidden from view, is the village of Cahuita. And the huge area of land jutting out into the sea is the above-ground portion of Cahuita National Park (the white breakers off the tip are caused by the large coral reef which the Park was created to protect):

Satellite view of Cahuita

For the flat-earth enthusiasts, here's a view that shows the village (the small area jutting out to the sea):

The village of Cahuita, dwarfed by its National Park

A note about the yellow push-pins you see on most of the Google Earth images on this site: they were placed using GPS readings made from the lot locations. They are fairly accurate representations of the lots' actual locations, but they are not exact. GPS units produce somewhat haphazard results in Costa Rica. (The Google Earth program itself places the town of Cahuita on the wrong side of the main highway from Limón, and Cahuita "landmarks" contributed by various members of the Google Earth community tend to be wildly inaccurate.)