Porvenir

About Porvenir:

Porvenir is the fifth of Nandayure’s six districts, a little over 40 square kilometres of uplands in the south of the canton. Cerro Azul is the head village; around it sit Bellavista, Los Ángeles, Delicias, Quebrada Grande, San Josecito, Cabeceras de Río Bejuco and part of Chompipe. The district was first called San Rafael. Carmona, the canton seat, handles the municipal paperwork and the weekly shopping, and Nicoya is the next town for the hospital and the banks.

The economy is coffee and citrus. CoopeCerroAzul, a cooperative of coffee and orange growers from these hills, has added avocado in recent years and sells its own roasted coffee. Cattle once covered far more of the slopes than it does now: many upper pastures were left to grow back into secondary forest, and the population fell from close to 1,900 in the early 1960s to under 800 today. The district is now putting together community tours around the Juan de León and La Mona waterfalls, an organic market garden, a traditional sugar-cane trapiche, local beekeepers and the coffee and orange harvests.

Height is what sets Porvenir apart from the rest of Guanacaste. The summit of Cerro Azul is a watershed and a provincial boundary: on the far side lies Lepanto, in Puntarenas. The Río Leona rises there and runs down to the Ora, which meets the Pacific near Playa Camaronal, while the other flank drains to the gulf. On top stand a cluster of antennas and the white radar dome installed in 1990 to track drug flights and boats. The cooler air is the reason many people look here at all, and it is what lets coffee grow on a peninsula better known for dry heat. From the higher ground you can pick out the islands of the gulf, and from the cliffs above the Bejuco headwaters, the point at Islita.

Porvenir is a farming community first, and the coffee and orange cooperative sits at the centre of it. Nandayure is one of the five cantons of the Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone, and that reputation for long lives is part of what draws buyers from outside. Most want a cool, quiet home on a ridge, with the beaches at Coyote, San Miguel, Bejuco, Islita and Camaronal around 30 kilometres away. Others want a working orchard or a small agritourism project that can plug into the community tours.

Land and Lots in Porvenir:

The typical offer is a building lot of a few thousand square metres at around 900 metres, facing the sea. Beyond those come fincas of two or three hectares with oranges, coffee and a partial ocean view, and larger view parcels of ten hectares or more. If you are looking for land for sale in Porvenir, stand on the actual building site before you decide: the slopes are steep, and the view from the gate is not always the view from where the house can go.

Farms and Fincas in Porvenir:

Orchard fincas are the district’s own product. Around Los Ángeles they come planted with hundreds of orange trees, mandarins, avocado and plantain, sometimes with a spring of their own, and coffee grows on the plots up toward Cerro Azul. Ask how the harvest has been picked and sold in recent years before you put a value on the trees.

Houses in Porvenir:

Houses here almost always come with land. You will see two-storey wooden ranch houses set among citrus groves, and the odd larger estate such as a colonial-style home with a pool on more than ten hectares looking over the Gulf of Nicoya. A house for sale in Porvenir is really a decision about the finca around it, so walk the orchards, the water source and the road to the gate as carefully as the rooms.

FAQ:

• How do you get to Porvenir?

  From Carmona, the canton seat, it is roughly half an hour’s climb by car to Cerro Azul. Nicoya is the nearest larger town, and Daniel Oduber airport at Liberia is the closest international airport. A newly paved road joins Quebrada Grande with San Bosco, but many farm lanes are still gravel, so drive the route to a specific property in the rainy season before you judge it.

• A finca near Cerro Azul: Guanacaste or Puntarenas?

  Check this first. The ridge of Cerro Azul is the line between Porvenir in Guanacaste and Lepanto in Puntarenas, so a parcel near the summit may be registered on the other side. The cadastral plan and the record at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) show which province and district it sits in, and that decides whether the land-use certificate comes from the Municipalidad de Nandayure or from Puntarenas. Confirm that the plan matches the fences on the ground and that everyone named on the title is part of the sale.

• Can I clear the regrown pasture on a finca?

  Often you cannot. Much of the old grazing land here has turned back into secondary forest, and once it counts as forest the Forestry Law does not allow it to be converted to pasture or building land. Springs and streams also carry protected strips. Get a forestry assessment before you pay for a parcel on the strength of how much of it you plan to use.

• How far are the beaches?

  Coyote, San Miguel, Bejuco, Islita and Camaronal are all roughly 30 kilometres away by road. That drive down is the trade-off for living in the cooler hills, and it is worth timing before you buy.

• Can foreigners buy property in Porvenir?

  Yes. Foreigners can own titled property in Costa Rica outright, on the same terms as citizens, and since Porvenir is inland none of the maritime-zone concession rules for the coast apply. Many foreign buyers hold property through a Costa Rican company, a choice to make with a local lawyer.