Carmona

About Carmona:

Carmona is the first of Nandayure’s six districts, a little under 32 square kilometres with some 2,600 residents. Besides the town itself, it takes in the villages of Camas, Limones, Maquenco, San Rafael and Vista de Mar. Route 161 links the town with Santa Rita and Route 21, which runs north to Nicoya, about 36 kilometres away, and south to Jicaral and the Playa Naranjo ferry to Puntarenas. Route 902 heads west toward Hojancha, and the roads up into Zapotal, Porvenir and the coast at Bejuco all leave from here. Buses to Nicoya and San José depart from the terminal in the centre.

The town began on 6 December 1910, when the first families of a state farming colony, led by the priest José Daniel Carmona Briceño, camped under palm-thatch shelters on the banks of the Río Nandayure while the forest was cleared. Most came from Atenas, San Ramón and Palmares, and the government gave them a sugar-cane mill, a sawmill and a rice huller to get started. When Nandayure became a canton in 1961, Carmona was made its seat, and the canton’s business has been done here ever since. The Municipalidad stands beside the parish church of San Isidro Labrador, and within a few streets you have the CCSS clinic with its emergency service, a Banco Nacional branch, the Escuela Presbítero José Daniel Carmona Briceño and the Colegio Técnico Profesional Agropecuario Nandayure, teaching since 1972. Cattle and farming still carry the countryside around it, but in town much of the work is in those offices, classrooms and shops.

The town lies at 80 metres, on the flat ground the colonists first cleared beside the river. They did not stay down there long: many soon climbed into the surrounding hills, and villages such as Maquenco and San Rafael, once known as Casa de Zinc, grew on the slopes above town. The Río Nandayure is the thing to understand about this valley. In November 2009 a flood undermined the 30-metre bridge over the river at Carmona and cut off some 25 communities in Bejuco, Porvenir and Zapotal, and in June 2022 a downpour overwhelmed the drains and flooded both the clinic and the agricultural college. The municipality has since dredged the river to keep it moving past Carmona and the villages downstream.

Most people here are Costa Rican families, many of them descended from the colony’s settlers, along with the people who run the town’s offices, clinic and schools. Nandayure is one of the five cantons of the Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone, and that name brings buyers from further away too. Locals usually want a house within walking distance of the bank and the doctor. Outsiders often want the same thing for a different reason: a practical base with services on hand while they look at land in the hills or on the coast.

Houses in Carmona:

Houses come up in and around the centre, mostly family homes of two or three bedrooms on ordinary town lots, close to the park, the bank and the bus terminal. A few small apartment units on paved streets near the shops change hands as well. When you look at houses for sale in Carmona, ask how the street drained in the 2022 rains and how far the floor sits above the level of the river. The lowest blocks take water first, and a house a few streets uphill can be a very different purchase.

Land and Lots in Carmona:

Lots in town are sized for a family house and a yard, often a thousand square metres or a little more. On the slopes above the centre the parcels get larger, and some look across the valley toward the Gulf of Nicoya. Before you commit to land for sale in Carmona, get the water availability letter from the local provider, because the building permit depends on it. Then ask the municipality whether the lot falls in the river’s flood-prone ground.

Farms and Fincas in Carmona:

Big farms begin almost at the edge of town. Holdings of dozens of hectares come up within a couple of kilometres of the centre, with cattle pasture, a well or a spring, cleared building sites, and views over the Gulf of Nicoya on one side and the town on the other. Many are reached by a private easement road that may only suit a 4×4. Make sure that easement is recorded, and drive it after a week of heavy rain before you agree a price.

Rentals in Carmona:

Renting in Carmona mostly means a monthly lease: houses and small apartments let to families and to people working in town. For short stays there is a bed-and-breakfast in town, and a few country houses in the hills of the district take guests by the night, which helps if you want to spend some time here before buying. On a long lease, ask whose name the water and power accounts are in and how the street behaves in October.

FAQ:

• Is Carmona the same place as Nandayure?

  In everyday speech, yes. Carmona is the town and district that serve as seat of Nandayure canton, and people on the peninsula often just say “Nandayure” or “Nandayure centro” when they mean it. The postal code is 50901. Spain has a far better-known Carmona near Seville, so check that the cadastral plan of any property reads Nandayure, Guanacaste.

• How do you get to Carmona?

  From Nicoya, take Route 21 south and turn onto Route 161 at Santa Rita; the whole trip is about 36 kilometres. From the Puntarenas side, cross on the ferry to Playa Naranjo and drive north through Jicaral. Buses run from the terminal in the centre to Nicoya and San José, and the nearest international airport is Daniel Oduber at Liberia.

• Does Carmona flood, and what should I check before buying near the river?

  Parts of town can. The 2009 flood took out the bridge, and the 2022 rains put water into the clinic and the college, so start with the ground: ask the Municipalidad de Nandayure for the land-use certificate and whether the lot sits in a flood-prone area. Then get the property’s certification from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) and compare the cadastral plan with the fences on site. Many parcels here have passed down through settler families, so make sure every owner on the title signs the sale.

• What services does Carmona have?

  The CCSS clinic with an emergency service, a Banco Nacional branch, the Ministry of Health area office, a primary school, the agricultural technical high school, the municipality and the bus terminal. For a hospital you go to the Hospital de La Anexión in Nicoya, and for bigger shopping most people drive there too.

• Can I buy a finca near town with its own water?

  Yes, and plenty come with a well or a spring. In Costa Rica, though, drawing that water for a house or for livestock means getting a concession from the State, so ask whether one has been granted or applied for. If the only way in is a private road, the easement has to be recorded on the title, not just agreed with the neighbour.