Catching up with Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. On his fourth and final voyage, he landed off of the coast of Puerto Limon on September 18, 1502. Isla Uvita, a small island, is one kilometer off of the coast of Puerto Limon. Cariay is what the BriBri people called the island. This is where Columbus moored his ships. He then took smaller boats onto the mainland. He encountered BriBri people, the indigenous people of Costa Rica, and proclaimed that the people were the friendliest in the New World, and that the scenery was the most beautiful. He also noticed that the BriBri were wearing gold decorations, and called the area Costa Rica, the Rich Coast. This prompted further exploration for gold throughout Costa Rica and Central America.

Click To Enlarge Pika gives us an impromptu history lesson in Limon

Many people in Costa Rica are not particularly fond of Christopher Columbus, because the introduction of a new culture and diseases were very hard on the people living in Costa Rica at the time. When Columbus landed in 1502, the population of Costa Rica was thought to be around 600,000. Within 50 years, the population fell to 10,000. Disease, conquest, slavery, and murder killed much of the population of the indigenous people of Costa Rica.

Today, Puerto Limon is a large city by Costa Rican standards. There are about 200,00 people living there today. Limon is the busiest seaport on the Caribbean in Costa Rica. Cars, manufactured goods, and electronics get imported. Bananas, other fruits, coffee, microchips, pharmaceutical products, and textiles are exported. And believe it or not, all of the baseballs used in the majors are made in Costa Rica.

Click To Enlarge Isla Uvita is shaped like a horse shoe, making it a great place to land a boat

Limon is located right on the Caribbean, and is the center of Caribbean lifestyle in Costa Rica. The city is home to the largest concentration of Afro-Caribbean people from Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean Sea. Reggae music can be heard from many of the sodas, or small restaurants. The people are very friendly and easy going. Limon has a distinct flavor, lifestyle, and culture that isn't found elsewhere in Costa Rica.