PUERTO LIMON 3 



long. They were the more easily seen as nearly all the foli- 

 age was at the very tops of the trees, producing a flat crown, 

 with no leaves to conceal these roots. Royal and cocoanut 

 palms were most conspicuous in the center of the plaza, which 

 was the resort of many small birds and lizards. The nu- 

 merous flower beds were outlined with red and pink amaryl- 

 lids and contained great bushes of Coleus and many varieties 

 of crotons as large as lilac bushes, with gay variegated leaves 

 of unusual shapes. 



Some blocks south of the railroad station and as many 

 inland from the sea, was another small plaza with a neat 

 market house in the center. On the south side of this square 

 stood the comfortable and clean Grande Hotel, where we 

 stayed when in Limon. Still farther inland were high banks 

 covered with trees showing how much the land had been 

 cut down to make the present level of the streets. 



The town was clean, well-drained, well-paved, with both 

 streets and sidewalks of good width. In spite of its clean- 

 liness there were hundreds of black vultures or "zopilotes" 

 flying about, perching on trees, squabbling over tidbits in 

 the scavengers' carts, or walking in the streets with their 

 curious rheumatic, jerky gait. Limon when we first saw 

 it was built largely of wood, although its roofs were of gal- 

 vanized iron. The ground floors were used as shops; the 

 upper residence stories were provided with balconies where 

 it was pleasanter to sit. There were few gardens around the 

 houses and the town was rather closely built up. During 

 the following year several fires occurred in different parts 

 of Limon and the areas so bared were extensive. In May, 

 1910, some of these were already being built on with brick 

 walls instead of wood so that the end result will be beneficial. 



All of the bananas and much of the cofi"ee produced in 

 Costa Rica are shipped from Limon. They are the chief 

 exports of the country, 9,365,690 bunches of the fruit being 



