The Southern Caribbean is the heart and soul of Costa Rica's Afro-Caribbean community, where Jamaicans, brought here by United Fruit to build the backbone of the original banana republic, learned to call Costa Rica home. For more than half a century, the communities of the Southern Caribbean existed almost independently of the rest of the country, turning to subsistence farming and fishing when the banana plantations, and later cacao fincas (chocolate farms), fell to devastating blights.

These Afro-Caribbean communities found good neighbors among the ancient indigenous groups, now encompassed by the nearby Cocles/KéköLdi, Talamanca Cabécar and Bribrí reserves. These latter two groups, isolated from the goings-on of mainstream Costa Rica, exchanged the ancient wisdom of medicinal plants, agriculture and jungle survival, and thrived.

Though the racial borders fell in 1949, electricity, roads and phones still came late to this perfect stretch of beachfront property. The result of such isolation is a culture still largely independent of mainstream Costa Rica.

Inevitably, however, improved infrastructure and an expanding tourism industry are inexorably wearing away the cultural quirks that many visitors have come to experience. Puerto Viejo in particular has experienced an influx of North American and European transplants, starting with surfers, but now including all kinds of folk looking for a change of pace. And with this picture-perfect setting and low-key vibe, who can blame them?

Not to worry, not yet anyway: the music of the islands is everywhere, reggae and calypso pouring from homes and businesses into the streets. The cuisine is extraordinary - even the simplest rice and beans conjure flavors of Jamaica. And while most residents speak Spanish, a patois of English remains common, if a little difficult to decipher for those unused to it.