Community and Lifestyle

When compared to the slow-moving beach communities that the Nicoya Peninsula is known for, the town of Nicoya actually moves at a faster pace. A hospital, numerous grocery stores, streets full of small shops, and bank branches ensure there is always a steady flow of traffic through the town. Beach-dwellers come to take care of business or to escape quiet beachfront living for an afternoon of shopping and other conveniences. There’s even a stoplight along the main road in front of the hospital–not a common sight in this corner of the country.

Generally speaking, few communities in Costa Rica show evidence of the country's indigenous past. In the Nicoya region, the Chorotega were the dominating society for a period of more than 2,000 years. An artistic representative of the society can be found painted on the occasional wall or in the form of a statue. In December, the town comes alive as locals celebrate both the Chorotega legend and the Catholic festivities for the Virgin of Guadalupe. The liveliest event of the year is celebrated with everyone throughout the Guanacaste province in July, as they observe their annexation from Nicaragua. 

Exciting research done in the Nicoya Peninsula suggests residents here have longer and healthier lives. As one of the world's so-called Blue Zones, the area's fresh foods, high air and water quality, and healthy family-focused lifestyle all likely play a role. Blue Zones are identified areas in which a large number of centenarians live healthily. As one expert put it to National Geographic, a 60-year-old living in the Nicoya area may be four times as likely to live to 90 years old as a person of the same age living in the United States.

Copyright © 2014 KRAIN Costa Rica Limitada, All rights reserved.