Parrita

About Parrita:

The district fills the stretch of Pacific coast between Garabito and Quepos. The Río Tulín separates it from Jacó in the west, Quepos lies to the east, and to the north the land climbs toward Puriscal, Acosta, Aserrí, Tarrazú and Turrubares. At its widest Parrita measures 46 kilometres, from the summit of Cerro San Jerónimo down to the mouth of the Río Tusubres. Ruta 34, the Costanera, crosses it from end to end and runs straight through town. From San José the drive takes about two hours on Ruta 27 and the Costanera, Jacó is some 40 kilometres back up the coast, and Tracopa buses connect the town with the capital several times a day.

The town owes its existence to bananas. In 1938 the Compañía Bananera de Costa Rica, a United Fruit subsidiary, chose the Pirrís valley for its new plantations, and workers arrived from Nicaragua, Guanacaste and the Valle Central. They settled at a spot called Barbudal on the east bank, near the river mouth, and the settlement later spread across to La Julieta; the company itself laid the first water pipes and power lines. After the war hit banana sales, it began planting oil palm in 1945, first on its Palo Seco farm, and from 1956 palm was the only crop. It still is the backbone of the local economy, alongside pineapple, papaya, melon, watermelon and rice, and Parrita has been a canton in its own right since July 1971. Every February the town fills for the Festival Nacional de las Mulas, when more than fifty mules race down the track locals call the mulómetro.

The river, known as the Pirrís upstream and the Parrita on its lower course, is short, fast and loaded with sediment. That is what made the plain so fertile, and it is also why the town floods. In November 2010 the river rose and damaged more than 600 homes in barrios such as INVU, Bello Horizonte, La Julieta and Pueblo Nuevo, with the water coming in along a 500-metre stretch just before the dike begins. The same storm washed out part of the road between Playón and Vasconia and left villages in the hills, among them Vasconia, San Gerardo and San Miguel, cut off for days. Heavy rain in later years has brought red alerts and road closures again, so the rainy season is something every buyer here should plan around.

The coast is where most outside buyers look. Esterillos is one long grey-sand beach broken by river mouths into four: Esterillos Oeste, Esterillos Centro, Esterillos Este and Playa Bejuco, each with its own turn-off from the Costanera. Oeste is the biggest village, with restaurants, small hotels and a bronze mermaid on the tide-pool rocks that you can walk out to at low tide, while the other three are quieter. Further east come Playa Bandera and Palo Seco, a long and mostly empty beach on a strip of land between the estuary and the open sea. These are surf beaches with strong currents, which suits the surfers and foreign residents who settle around Esterillos as much as the families from the Valle Central who keep a weekend house near the sand. In town, people who work in the plantations, shops and services mostly own modest houses or rent.

Houses in Parrita:

Houses in Parrita fall into three groups. In town, modest family homes line the streets of barrios such as INVU, La Julieta, Pueblo Nuevo and Bello Horizonte, close to schools, supermarkets and the Costanera. Near the beaches, three-bedroom homes on lots of 260 to 330 square metres sit a few hundred metres from the sand in Esterillos Oeste and Bejuco, and Esterillos Este has larger houses on big lots. At Bandera and Palo Seco a few properties sit right on the beach, some with river frontage at the back. Inland, the Las Palmas Rainforest community near San Antonio has homes with views of both the sea and the mountains. When you compare houses for sale in Parrita, find out first how high the lot sits above the river or the nearest estuary.

Rentals in Parrita:

The long-term market is local and practical. Apartments in INVU, near the Maxi Palí, the school and the park, come up regularly, sometimes with cable included, and newer three-bedroom houses with a two-car garage are offered for rent in La Palma. Holiday rentals are a separate business on the coast, where pool villas and beach houses in Esterillos Oeste, Bejuco, Bandera and Palo Seco fill up in the dry season and over national holidays. If you need long-term rentals in Parrita near the beach, start well before December, when owners prefer short stays.

Land and Lots in Parrita:

Land is the largest part of the market. Costa Esterillos, a gated condominium a few minutes from the beach, has more than 400 lots of roughly 2,000 to 3,000 square metres behind a guard booth, with cobblestone streets and underground cabling. Residential projects near Bejuco and Bandera sell smaller lots of 200 to 650 square metres, some with in-house financing. In the centre, urban lots in La Julieta front paved public roads a short walk from shops. Higher up there are ocean-view parcels and farms, where the condition of the gravel roads after a wet October matters as much as the view.

New Developments in Parrita:

New building is concentrated in the strip between the Costanera and the beaches at Bejuco and Bandera. One pre-construction project near Playa Bejuco offers single-level homes of 40 to 105 square metres on 300-square-metre lots, others pair new houses with access to a beach club, and pre-sale lots near Playa Bandera start at around 458 square metres. Buying at this stage often means paying in instalments before the roads and utilities are finished. Ask whether each lot already has its own registered plan, whether the water supply has been approved and who is responsible for the streets until they are handed over.

FAQ:

• Does Parrita flood?

  Parts of the town do. The dike protects most of it, but in 2010 the river came in along the unprotected stretch before the dike starts and through openings without floodgates, and hundreds of homes in INVU, Bello Horizonte, La Julieta and Pueblo Nuevo took water and mud. Before you buy in town, ask the neighbours how the street fared in past storms, check the municipal land-use certificate and look at how far the house sits from the river and the drainage channels.

• Can I own a beachfront house in Esterillos, Bejuco or Palo Seco?

  Not outright, in most cases. The first 200 metres from the high-tide line fall under the maritime-zone law: the first 50 metres are public and the rest can only be held under a municipal concession, which Parrita can grant because Esterillos, Palo Seco and Bejuco have approved coastal plans. A foreigner needs five years of residence in the country to hold a concession in their own name. Pull the folio real at the Registro Nacional to see whether the property is titled or a concession, and ask the Municipalidad de Parrita where its boundary with the maritime zone lies.

• How do Esterillos Oeste, Centro, Este and Bejuco differ?

  They share one long beach, split by river mouths, but each has its own entrance from the Costanera and its own pace. Esterillos Oeste is the largest, with most of the restaurants and small hotels. Centro, Este and Bejuco are quieter, more residential and spread out, with more room between houses. All four have strong surf and currents, so check the water before you choose a spot for children.

• How far is Parrita from San José and Jacó?

  About two hours by car from San José on Ruta 27 and the Costanera, and some 40 kilometres from Jacó along the same coast road. Quepos and Manuel Antonio lie further south on Ruta 34. Tracopa buses run between San José and Parrita several times a day.

• What should I check before buying a lot in a project near Bejuco or Bandera?

  Start with the paperwork for the individual lot, not the project brochure. Each lot should have its own registered cadastral plan and folio real, and the seller should show a water availability letter and a land-use certificate. If the offer comes with financing from the developer, read who keeps title until the last payment. In the hills, drive the access road in the rainy season before signing.