The main attraction of this dusty town is undoubtedly its proximity to Parque Nacional Corcovado, which has an information office here. But Puerto Jiménez is something of a natural wonder in itself, sliced in half by the swampy, overgrown Quebrada Cacao, and flanked on one side by the emerald waters of the Golfo Dulce. This untamed environment often brings wildlife to your doorstep, so it’s not unusual to spot scarlet macaws roosting on the soccer field or white-faced capuchins swinging in the treetops around your hotel.

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Although it appears on maps dating to 1914, Puerto Jiménez was little more than a cluster of houses built on a mangrove swamp. With the advent of logging in the 1960s and the subsequent discovery of gold in the local streams, Jiménez became a small boomtown. The logging industry still operates in parts of the peninsula, but the gold rush has quieted down in favor of the tourist rush.

Even so, Port Jim (as the gringos call it) retains a frontier feel. Now, instead of gold miners descending on the town’s bars on weekends, it’s the naturalist guides, who come to have a shot of guaro and brag about the snakes, sharks and alligators they’ve allegedly tousled with.

Parts of Puerto Jiménez are currently being threatened by seemingly indiscriminate enforcement of maritime zone laws. As in coastal areas around the country, townsfolk are rallying against the municipality’s threats to demolish some 200 odd homes that are built within the zone