San Lucas To Become A
Tourist Attraction
The Refugio Nacional de
Vida Silvestre Isla San
Lucas, Costa Rica'a
infamous version of San
Francisco's "the rock",
or France's "Devil
Island", will soon
become a tourist
attraction after Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arias, signs a executive
decree allowing tourism
on a small portion of
the island.
Decree "ley 5469"
effectively trasnfers
title of the island to
the Municipalidad de
Puntarenas which will
establish it as tourist
destination.
The announcement was
made by Arias during a
tour of the Puntarenas
province, which also saw
the inauguration of the
centre for children and
handed out financial
help to area residents
under the "Programa
Avancemos".
This was the first time
in his life that Arias
visited San Lucas.
The Municipalidad de
Puntarenas will received
5.5% or 25 hectares of
the 472 hectares that
make up the island,
where it will restore
the Centro Penal en la
Isla San Lucas - the
prison - creating a
museum and a cultural
centre with restaurants,
retail stores and nature
trails.
The Municipalidad de
Puntarenas in
conjunction with the
Instituto Costarricense
de Turismo (ICT) -
tourism board - will
manage the tourist area.
Before 1992, San Lucas
was a prison with a
reputation for being the
roughest jail in the
country. It's history is
rich with tales of
violence. A network of
underground prison cells
hosted society's
undesirables who ran the
community, fished,
farmed and did domestic
chores.
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