Costa Rica welcomes its 30th (or 29th if you count La Amistad) National Park with Isla San Lucas joining the club. This article contains a link (or links) to Amazon, from which, as an Amazon Associate, this website will earn a small commission if you make any purchases.
On Monday the Costa Rican legislature approved a bill to turn Isla San Lucas into a national park.
The bill, proposed by PLN Diputado Carlos Ricardo Benavides, creates the first new national park in Costa Rica since the designation of Guanacaste’s Miravalles Jorge Manuel Dengo National Park in June 2019.
Costa Rica tiene un nuevo Parque Nacional! La isla San Lucas se convierte en el parque número 30 de nuestro país. Tendrá un modelo de administración interinstitucional diferenciado, para proteger la naturaleza, restaurar el patrimonio histórico y desarrollar el turismo sostenible pic.twitter.com/mVZxjmROYg
— Carlos Ricardo Benavides (@CRBenavidesJ) August 10, 2020
Isla San Lucas is an island in the Gulf of Nicoya.
Between 1873 and 1991, it was a prison, home of some of Costa Rica’s most notorious and dangerous criminals.
Conditions on Isla San Lucas were brutal. Torture, malnutrition, overcrowding, and disease were common. Visitors today can still see the graffiti on cell walls depicting the abject misery of life in the prison.
One prisoner, Jose Leon Sanchez, wrote the book La Isla de Hombres Solos (The Island of Lonely Men) about his experiences on Isla San Lucas.
After the last prisoners left in the early 90s, Isla San Lucas spent years rotting and decaying away, a curiosity viewed mostly from the ferries crossing the Gulf of Nicoya.
#JaleAlPuerto #JaleASanLucas
La Isla San Lucas es un tesoro de historia y biodiversidad, fue presidio durante más de 100 años entre 1873 y 1991, su historia cobra vida en sus restos arquitectónicos.Trabajamos para reabrir la Isla con todos los protocolos de atención al Covid19. pic.twitter.com/6IyERIwVX2
— Claudia Dobles Camargo (@ClaudiaDobles) August 7, 2020
Then in 2012, Costa Rican tourism authorities took over the upkeep of the island.
It became a wildlife refuge while the government worked to convert the island into a tropical Alcatraz.
“Our intention is to turn Isla San Lucas into the tourist hub of the Gulf of Nicoya,” said Diputado Benevides.
“It’ll become a hub for tourism in the Gulf of Nicoya. This will enhance tourist activity of other islands and communities around the gulf, starting with the port of Puntarenas. Visitors will enjoy a visit to the past while appreciating the natural wealth of an island in the sea with top quality tourist services.”
Aside from the prison, the 500-hectare Isla San Lucas is home to monkeys, deer, snakes, and crocodiles. It’s easily accessible on a day-trip out of Puntarenas, a 30-to-40-minute boat ride.
James Dyde is the editor of www.centralamerica.com. He lives in Escazu, Costa Rica.
