Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions. It is located on Bluefields Bay at the mouth of the Escondido River.Bluefields was named after the Dutch pirate Abraham Blauvelt who hid in the bay’s waters in the early 17th century.