PUNTARENAS, or PUNTA ARENAS  , a seaport and capital of the district (comarca) of Puntarenas, Costa Rica; on the Gulf of Nicoya, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and at the western terminus of the interoceanic railway from Limon . Pop . (1904), 3569 . Puntarenas is the principal harbour of Costa Rica on the Pacific, and a port of call for the United States liners which ply between San Francisco and Panama . It has an iron pier and ample warehouse accommodation for its large and growing export trade in coffee and bananas . The district of Puntarenas comprises the entire littoral from Burica Point to the Rio de las Lajas, an affluent of the Gulf of Nicoya .