Puerto Limon is a sultry port town that is more a place to pass through rather than linger in. The only town along the Caribbean coast, Limon is the main service centre for the eponymous region and is the country’s main commercial port; it is also the gateway to both Tortuguero and Cahuita National Parks. The many sailors’ bars attract a colourful clique of hookers and unsavoury characters.

The port evolved as a centre for the export of precious hardwoods and, later during the early colonial epoch, cacao, but soon fell beyond the pale of Spanish authority and emerged as a refuge for buccaneers and pirates scouring the Spanish Main.

The bustling, enclosed market that lies at the town’s core is also worth a perusal for its colourful fishmongers, butchers, and artisans’ stalls tucked into narrow alleys.