Puntarenas Up Close!

 The first 4 photos of this blog show our view of Puntarenas we have enjoyed for the past 20 months from our front window.  Puntarenas is the little spit of land on the right side of most of the photos that juts into the Nicoya Bay.  We've enjoyed watching all the ships that come and go.  And, the view is constantly changing with the weather and time of day.  In the evening, when the sun goes down, the lights of the city and neighboring towns create a spectacular scene. One Sunday awhile back we decided we need to check out the city we knew so well from a distance but not at all up close!

It took us about an hour and a half to get to the Puntareans area and we discovered it seemed as dirty and grungy as everyone had told us!!  Along our way to the end of the spit, we stopped at a large lot that appeared to be a type of marina.  Believe me, I use the word loosely!  What looks like gravel on the ground is, probably gravel, but covered with trash.

 The "Pier" was also covered with all kinds of trash including, paper, electronics and, of course, lots of miscellaneous plastic!

There was a couple fishing of the edge of the seawall and we got out and walked around to get a closer look.                                       

There were a number of boats docked near by.  We weren't sure we would want to ride in too many of them and wondered how long they had been there and if they were used.

These boats looked a little more seaworthy and to us appeared to be shrimp boats.

What do you think, Jimmy, shrimp boats or some other type of fishing boat?

 As we were were leaving the "Marina", we spotted some local artists work on the wall.  It was actually a bright spot in a pretty grubby place.  We decided we preferred the graffiti to the old microwaves, washing machines and who knows what other kinds of trash!

As we progressed to the end of the Puntarenas Peninsula, we were pleasantly surprised to see a number of attractive changes being made.  Beautiful walkways and lamp posts along the waterway.  A very pleasant place to walk and enjoy the many distant islands and the Nicoya Peninsula.  Unfortunately, none of the many ships and boats were visible that we enjoy so much from our Berlin window.

A lighthouse was being restored along the boardwalk and added a lot of charm to our experience.  Across the street, although well done but not so picturesque, was a huge, many faceted swimming pool.  It was completely fenced in and was a private club of some kind.  Sorry, no photo all I could get was the fence!

 Just to the right of the lighthouse you can see a cart of typical Costa Rican food that was being sold.

As we looked out to sea we saw turbulent waters and a small vessel.

Behind Don and to the center of the photo you can see the ferry that takes people to the Nicoya Peninsula.   With my fear of ferries, I'll be taking the road to the Nicoya Peninsula thank you very much!

We ate lunch out side this little restaurant at the corner and were disappointed to discover a number of beachfront options on our way out of town!  Maybe next time!

Fortunately, the view across the street was of a beautiful Bougainvillea. And, a wonderful tree growing up through a brick sidewalk.

Heading out of town, we discovered a number of beaches along the side of the road.  Puntarenas is not know for having great beaches and we probably wouldn't choose to spend the day on one.  However, as we passed by, there were some people enjoying the day without feeling crowded!

 

As you can see, it was a bit windy and cloudy but the temperature was perfect.  All in all we enjoyed our little adventure to Puntarenas and now when we look out our front window we will actually have an idea what we are looking at!  Also, it was nice to see someplace other than Berlin, San Ramon and Palmares!