González Dávila’s expedition had left from Terarequi…
1522 CE
González Dávila’s expedition had left from Terarequi on January 26, 1522, but had been forced to land in western Panama after four days because of leaking ships.
González disembarks with the main body of the army, and marches northwest along the coast and into southern Nicaragua.
Niño, after making repairs, sails along the coast until he reaches a gulf along the Nicaraguan coast, where the army and fleet are reunited.
It is agreed that Niño will leave two ships there and continue north along the coast with the other two to search for a strait or channel that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
While González continues by land, Niño sails by the coast "in sight" of the landed party.
Cereceda´s records indicate they baptized hundreds of natives and obtained a substantial amount of gold and pearls.
They arrive at a pleasant bay that they name San Vicente (current Caldera) in Costa Rica.
Accounts differ as to whether the name la costa rica (Spanish for "rich coast") was first applied by Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the eastern shores of Costa Rica during his final voyage in 1502, and reported the presence of vast quantities of gold jewelry among the natives, or by González Dávila, who lands on the west coast in 1522, meets with the natives, and appropriates some of their gold.