Travel Guide Guapiles

Very rural and far from mass tourism, the city breathes authenticity and you will certainly appreciate its small center and its main square. As for the outskirts, which are very residential, they are of little tourist interest. All around Guápiles there are banana trees. At the base of each trunk, you will notice another rotting trunk: the banana tree that has produced a bunch of bananas is immediately replaced by a new tree. The blue bags that surround each bunch keep them warm, protect them from insects and preserve the ethylene released by the ripening fruit. At harvest time - which occurs long before the fruit is ripe - the bunches, still wrapped in their blue bags, are loaded onto trays pulled by small tractors and piled onto special bays before being sent to the coast. Banana plantations have always been a major part of the Costa Rican economy, but the fruit companies are increasingly criticized by environmentalists, after being attacked by the workers' unions. Too much land has been cleared to make way for banana trees, and planters are using and abusing insecticides to increase production with little regard for the environment and health. It seems that a change is taking place, noticeable since some international discussions that do not help the banana business of Costa Rica (WTO agreements).