Playa_Zancudo
Playa Zancudo
Place in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica
Playa Zancudo is a village in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica near the Golfo Dulce. It has a population of approximately 450.[2]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2008) |
Playa Zancudo | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates: 08°32′38.59″N 83°08′48.15″W | |
| Country |  Costa Rica |
| Province | Puntarenas Province |
| Canton | Golfito Canton |
| Population | |
| • Total | 450 |
| [1] | |
It is located 9.5 kilometers south of Golfito.[3] Zancudo is located on a long and narrow peninsula, sometime only 100 yards wide, at the mouth of the Rio Colorado.[3] On one side of the peninsula is Zancudo's beach, protected from the full force of Pacific waves, while the other is home to a mangrove swamp.[3] The whole beach is 6 miles long, with the southern three miles of it having jungle and farmland on the east side and most of the town being located within the northernmost mile.[2] The town of Playa Zancudo contains a school, several churches, a soccer field, some Tico restaurants and bars, three sportfishing areas, and a general store.[2]
The area around Golfito's port was developed by the United Fruit Company in the 1930s.[2] While this was happening, excess bananas that washed down the Rio Coto river came upon Playa Zancudo's beaches.[2] During this time, pig farms thrived on the leftover bananas.[2] Americans began moving to Zancudo in the 1980s, with the rise in foreign settlement aiding the demise of pig farming in Zancudo.[2]
The nearest airport is in Golfito.[3]
The dirt road which connects the community to nearby towns has daily bus service in and out of the town.
- Parrales, Freddy (2 December 2008). "Vía a playa Zancudo sigue en abandono total" [Road to Zancudo beach is still completely abandoned]. La Nación (in Spanish).
- "About Playa Zancudo". Cabinas Sol Y Mar. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- Samson, Karl; Jane Aukshunas (1994). Frommer's Comprehensive Travel Guide: Costa Rica. Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 201.