Christopher Columbus Never Visited Costa Rica

Christopher Columbus never set foot in Costa Rica.

His four voyages (1492–1504) made landfall in:

• 1st (1492): Bahamas (Guanahani), Cuba, Hispaniola.
• 2nd (1493): Dominica, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica.
• 3rd (1498): Trinidad, mainland South America (Venezuela/Orinoco Delta).
• 4th (1502–1504): Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica's Caribbean coast (near Limón)—he sailed along the coast but did not land. His son Ferdinand records anchoring off "Cariari" (likely Uvita Island) for repairs, but no landing.

Costa Rica's name ("Rich Coast") was coined later by Gil González Dávila (1522), who did explore inland. Effective Spanish colonization began 1560s (Cartago founded 1563).