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Guanacaste is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the northwestern part of the country, at the coast to the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua, in fact Guanacaste originally belonged to Nicaragua. To the west is the province Alajuela, to the south-east is the province Puntarenas. The capital is Liberia. The province covers an area of 10,141 km², and has a population of 264,238 (2000).
Unique to Guanacaste among Costa Rican provinces are both its climate and culture. Guancaste experiences little rain and consistent heat from November to April, providing enjoyable dry heat for tourists seeking time on any of the breathtaking Guanacastecan beaches throughout the North-American winter. From May to October, the climate is similar to that of San Jose, consisting of showers daily and moderate temperatures. Guanacaste is, however, considerably warmer than provinces residing in higher elevations.
Guanacastecan residents are unique in culture and language among Costa Ricans, because the Guanacaste province to this day still resembles alot of Nicaraguan culture. Not only is the Guanacastecan dialect generally slower and easier to understand than that of central residents', but a lisp is often added to the end of verb infinitives almost resembling a whistle. Guanacastecans also tend to pronounce Spanish in a manner resembling that of native Spaniards and Argentinians such as the one spoken in Nicaragua as well, using the "vos" conjugation instead of "tu," adding a Castilian (Castellano) twist to common Spanish language construction such as the double "L." Guanacaste is subdivided into 11 cantons.
Canton (Capital):
- Abangares (Las Juntas)
- Bagaces (Bagaces)
- Cañas (Cañas)
- Carrillo (Filadelfia)
- Hojancha (Hojancha)
- La Cruz (La Cruz)
- Liberia (Liberia)
- Nandayure (Carmona)
- Nicoya (Nicoya)
- Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz)
- Tilarán (Tilarán)
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