Playa Flamingo

This is a closer view of the main part of the bay at Playa Flamingo. The peninsula that you see here provides shelter for boats. The main part of the beach extends to the left from the other side of this peninsula.

There was a proposal to build a cruise ship pier at Playa Flamingo, and a large hotel complex. The winning bid was a $90 million proposal by a group with financing from the USA. As sometimes happens with government contracts, the losing parties filed bid protests, and the delay caused by that challenge and a court ruling that said that they have to re-bid the project. In the meantime, the world-wide downturn in the economy has reduced the market and demand for such large scale development projects, and seem to have caused this project to stall indefinitely.

A cruise ship pier for Playa Flamingo was a rather controversial project. As you can see in this photo, Playa Flamingo is not a large place. There would not be a lot for cruise ship visitors to do right in Playa Flamindo, although they could go out and make the beach very crowded, depending on the size of the cruise ship.

It is more likely that cruise ships would generate lots of business for people who run excursions, as the cruise ship tourists would probably buy shore excursion packages for zip lines, wildlife river trips, etc. Tamarindo would be the nearest town with shopping and other resources that cruise ship visitors frequent. I am sure that the business would be welcomed by many, although my impression of towns that are flooded with cruise ship visitors is that they often have lots of shops selling t-shirts and trinkets, and do not necessarily bring more desirable amenities.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, we are showing photos of Peru, including photos from an area that is very remote.