 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2008) |
Playa Zancudo | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates: 08°32′38.59″N83°08′48.15″W / 8.5440528°N 83.1467083°W Coordinates: 08°32′38.59″N83°08′48.15″W / 8.5440528°N 83.1467083°W | |
| Country |  Costa Rica |
| Province | Puntarenas Province |
| Canton | Golfito Canton |
| Population | |
| • Total | 450 |
| [1] | |
Playa Zancudo is a village in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica near the Golfo Dulce. It has a population of approximately 450. [2]
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.
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