Guanacaste paraíso del bosque tropical seco de Costa Rica

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Sabe usted dónde se concentra la mayor cantidad de bosque tropical seco de América? Podrá encontrar la respuesta en la provincia de Guanacaste, en Costa Rica. Valga la ocasión para describir grosso modo en qué consiste este tipo de foresta. Se compone de una vegetación que sobrevive con mucho menos agua que el bosque tropical húmedo, pues tiene una temporada seca que se extiende por aproximadamente 8 meses. Sin embargo, esta característica no le resta magnificencia a la flora y fauna que la habita. Eso sí, hubo un tiempo en que esta belleza particular era empañada por la reducción de las áreas de conservación. En vez de preservar las riquezas naturales, los habitantes de la zona utilizaban el espacio como potreros para que el ganado pastase. Ello condujo a un proceso rápido de degradación. Incluso cuando quitaron las reses, el decaimiento de los terrenos continuó. Lo anterior debido a que la hierba jaragua había sido utilizada para alimentar a los animales, pero posteriormente invadió la flora local. Como consecuencia, se convirtió en material inflamable para los incendios de la temporada seca, lo que trajo consigo una mayor reducción de los bosques.

 

Posteriormente, el entomólogo estadounidense Daniel Janzen, quien hacía estudios en la zona, se percató del grado de riqueza de vida silvestre. Asimismo, se dio cuenta de la fragilidad del ecosistema y que, de no ocuparse de su cuidado, se convertiría en un recuerdo para las generaciones venideras.

Fue a partir de este acontecimiento que arrancó la trama del libro «El Fénix Verde», del autor William Allen. En él, un equipo de científicos y voluntarios costarricenses y provenientes del vecino del norte se adentraron en la arena política, ecológica y social del área. El propósito iba más allá de la simple conservación de los bosques sino también la promoción de su recrecimiento. La idea era conectar las pequeñas islas de bosque remanentes y transformarlo en un corredor que replicara la formación original. En un principio el concepto fue considerado como estrafalario pero la osadía de los propulsores acabó sobreponiéndose a la dificultad operativa del proyecto.

El escritor realizó una investigación extensa para recrear la cotidianidad de los personajes principales. De igual manera, se esmeró en el carácter de cada uno de ellos. Así, logró plasmar la manera en que los participantes hicieron a un lado su ego en pro del bien común.

Allen incluyó además, algunos aspectos increíbles sobre la ecoestructura delicada de la zona. Describió con gran detalle cómo las plantas, animales e insectos se vinculan intrínsecamente los unos con los otros. Un elemento descollante es que este proceso se replica en condiciones idénticas tanto en el bosque tropical húmedo como en el seco.El libro es un modelo, un caso de éxito que sirve para analizar la interrogante: ¿se puede prevenir la destrucción de los bosques tropicales del mundo? En las colinas costarricenses heridas por el fuego del verano, el científico y escritor encontró una respuesta maravillosa: no solo es posible es detener la destrucción sino devolverle su riqueza original.

Esta es una historia inspiradora relatada con energía viva. En ella se reflejan imágenes sin igual de playas vírgenes, bosques exuberantes; además del heroísmo y la capacidad de los equipos científicos. Describe el carácter heterodoxo del ecologista Daniel Janzen. En resumen, una obra que todos querrán leer.

Posterior a la lectura, usted deseará vivir en carne propia una experiencia similar. Si lo suyo no es acampar a la intemperie, en el hotel y villas Pranamar le ofrecemos opciones de alojamiento de primer orden. Este es un lugar íntimo ubicado en Santa Teresa, una impresionante playa de arena blanca en el océano Pacífico. Situado en la península de Nicoya, le ofrecen áreas hermosas de natación y todas las comodidades que desee.
¡Atrévase a dominar esa ave fénix indómita que vive en la región!
Por: Andrés Figueroa

Uncover the Rich Indigenous History of Costa Rica

Visitors to Costa Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region probably don’t realize the area was once a thriving community for the indigenous Chorotega tribe. Indigenous history and traditions maintain a low profile in the Central American country, yet if you look closely they are all around you.

Spreading across Costa Rica’s entire northern Pacific zone, Guanacaste, for instance, is called the “Chorotega region” after its original inhabitants. The Nicoya Peninsula is named for a Chorotega chief who ruled the area when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Costa Rica in 1523.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Chorotega were the largest and most technologically advanced tribe in Costa Rica, according to Encyclopedia Britannica and other historical reports. The tribe, whose name means “people surrounded by enemies”, were driven by warfare from Central Mexico many generations before the Spanish arrived and settled in southern Nicaragua, Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula.


They spoke Mangue, an Oto-Manguean language from Central Mexico that was shared by indigenous groups in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Many of the place names in northwest Costa Rica are Chorotegan, including Guanacaste – name of the northern Pacific province and Costa Rica’s national tree. The word “Guanacaste” means “ear tree” for the trees’ seeds which resemble a human ear.

Stretching all the way from the Nicaraguan border in the north through the Nicoya Peninsula, the Chorotega people lived in towns – some as large as 20,000 inhabitants – that were built around a central plaza, according to historical reports. Their houses were rectangular, built of wood with straw roofs. The Chorotega maintained strong religious rituals and were competent astronomers and mathematicians.

Corn was vitally important in the Chorotega culture, and affected the indigenous people’s agriculture, customs, artistic forms and religious beliefs, reports the Encyclopedia Britannica. Corn was the basis of their diet, along with beans, squash, cacao, meat and fish. The Chorotega had an active economic life with commerce and markets, and a semi-democratic social structure in which chiefs were elected. Cacao beans served as currency.

The Chorotega frequently fought with neighboring peoples, states the Encyclopedia Britannica. Tribal warriors wore padded cotton armor and fought with bows and arrows and wooden swords tipped with small flint knives. Although they were eventually conquered by the Spanish, the Chorotega were reported to be courageous warriors who fought hard against the invaders.


The history of indigenous peoples in Costa Rica is much like the rest of the Americas. The Europeans brought diseases to which the native population had no immunity; entire tribes were killed. Archaeologists calculate that up to 400,000 native people lived in Costa Rica when Columbus arrived in 1502, between the main tribes of the Chorotega, Guaymi (Ngabe), Terraba, Boruca, Maleku, Huetares, Bribri and Cabecar. Ultimately, it was the 16th century slave trade that decimated the Chorotegas. The Spanish rulers dominated the tribe by sending thousands to work in the gold mines of Panama and Peru.


Today, there are only about 64,000 indigenous people living in Costa Rica, according to official reports. The Chorotega language, culture and community have been largely lost, except for the indigenous reserve of Matambú, located near the town of Nicoya. Some customs and traditions have survived, such as the production of ceramic pottery and figurines. Chorotegan pottery is famous in Costa Rica, and is still being made in the towns of Guaitil and San Vicente.
 

Visit Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula and the fascinating land of the Chorotega people when you stay at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa. The beautiful, luxury boutique hotel is located right on the Pacific Ocean at Santa Teresa Beach. Two-story poolside villas and elaborate beachfront bungalows are set in extravagant tropical gardens near a lovely free-form saltwater pool. Winner of Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice and Certificate of Excellence awards, Pranamar Villas offers you daily in-house yoga classes, regular yoga retreats and workshops, all-inclusive yoga vacations, front-yard surfing, and surfing and yoga holidays.
By Shannon Farley

Yoga Stretches for Surfers ... Practice in Costa Rica!

Most surfers are probably already aware that the practice of Yoga results in great benefits for the physical body and beyond.


Yoga increases mental clarity and our ability to concentrate with intention on specific goals and desires. The breathing techniques used in this ancient science are amazing for increasing lung capacity, while helping to lengthen our ability to retain the breath (so necessary for surfers).
On a physical level, the postures (asanas) create flexibility, tone, strengthen, and hone in on our balancing skills. They also fill the body with vital Life energy (prana) and highly raise our body and self-awareness.

The following dynamic and static postures will help you achieve the strength and flexibility needed out in the surf, and will increase your balancing abilities for greater stability on your board.
Remember to always warm-up before heading out to the water, stretch for 5-10 minutes after surfing, and ENJOY!!

1)    3 legged downward dog w/ bent knee

Begin in downward-facing dog pose with your hands outer shoulder distance apart and feet parallel to each other, at least hip width apart. As you lift your hips up and back you’ll begin to feel a deep stretch along the backs of the legs. Remember to engage and tone your quadriceps (fronts of the thighs) while moving the tops of the thighs toward the backs of the legs. Breathe deeply in and out through the nose and throat, balancing the flow of breath and helping to calm the mind. Keep the arms strong and stable by pushing all four corners of the palms and all the fingertips into the ground and begin to lift your right leg up and into the air behind you. Lengthen through both legs as you take the right hip higher, “stacking” the hips and gently twisting from the waistline. Carefully bend the right knee while flexing the foot and spreading out the toes. The more you take your foot to the left, the more you will need to tuck your pelvis to lengthen the lower spine and increase flexibility in the psoas muscles. Work up to holding the position for 5-15 breaths. Bring the right leg back to downward dog posture and repeat on the other leg.

2)    Standing Pigeon w/ Eagle arms


Begin standing upright and cross your right ankle over your left lower thigh (right above the knee), keeping the foot active and flexed to protect the knee joint. With your hands on your hips, slowly bend your standing leg and widen your inner thighs back and apart (imagine you are hovering over a chair!).

Bring your arms parallel to the earth, reaching long from the heart center to your fingertips. Then cross your right arm under the left and “wrap” the arms around each other. Energetically lift your elbows and fingers upwards, while dropping your hips and thighs. Hug strongly into the mid-line with the legs and breathe deeply for 5 -10 breaths. Release and try the other side.

3)    Forearm plank w/ a "twist"

Begin with your knees and forearms on the ground, making sure that your forearms are parallel to each other and shoulder distance apart. Look toward your navel and bring your awareness to your core center, the seat of inner strength and stability. Breathe into your back body from the base of the spine all the way up toward the crown of the head. As you do this you will feel your lower abdomen activate and draw inward toward the spine (away from the floor). Then actively move the tailbone towards the heels, walking your feet back to straighten your legs (knees off the floor). Your entire body should be parallel to the earth and you will feel deep sensation throughout the core of your body. Continue to breathe slow and even through the nose.

Keep an emphasis on moving the lower "floating" ribs inward towards the back body, and then slightly soften behind the heart. Hold 5-10 breaths.
Keeping your shoulders steady with your chest facing the earth exhale as you drop your heels to the right, twisting your lower body to active the lateral abdominal muscles. Inhale back to center and drop your heels to the left as you strongly exhale (remember to keep the belly lifted in towards the spine). Return to center with an inhalation and continue going right to left in alignment with your breathing. Do your best to keep your upper body stable and still. Work up to 10 repetitions or more.

4)    Dynamic “Shalabasana” w/opposite arm and leg


Lay down on your stomach with your legs hip distance apart and arms extended out in front of you (shoulder distance apart). Keeping your gaze facing the floor, turn the palms of the hands to face each other, and as you inhale lift your right arm, chest, and left leg up off the earth. The emphasis of this movement is not to get your limbs as high as possible, but rather keep lengthening the whole spine and reach your leg long out of the hip and the crown of the head away from the tailbone. Focus your inhalation in the back of the body, thus breathing "space" into the spine.  Lower your self back to the floor on the exhalation, but keep awareness into the lower abdomen and gently lift the navel inward with the release.

On your next inhalation, lift your left arm, chest, and right leg off the floor and maintain the action of lengthening from the core of your pelvis down the legs and up the spine toward the fingertips. With the exhalation, return to lie on the ground and repeat each side, alternating right and left 5-10 times each.
On the last repetition of each side, try and hold the arm and leg up off the floor for 5 slow, even breathes. Emphasize the length of the spine and the gentle lifting of the belly in and up. Finish by sitting back on the heels with the chest resting on the thighs (child’s pose), arms and head relaxed on floor. Feel how working with opposite leg and arm can bring more awareness into your "center" and help you to connect with the innate intelligence of the body to stay centered and grounded.
5)    Navasana prayer


Begin seated on the ground with your knees drawn into your chest, grabbing the backs of the thighs with your hands. With the knees bent, first lift up along the spine moving the crown of the head toward the sky and the tailbone firmly down to the earth. Begin to straighten your legs into the air as you release your grip on the hamstrings. As you continue to sit up tall, draw your lower back away from the floor and the sacrum into the body (you will need to fully engage your core as you balance on the buttocks creating a V-shape with your body). Extending the arms parallel to the ground, relax your shoulders and move energetically along the legs from the hips to the toes. Actively lift up along the whole length of the spine, keeping the chest broad and the abdomen fully engaged. Work toward holding this static position for 5-15 breaths.

Then bring your palms together in front of your chest (anjali mudra) and actively press the hands into one another. Slightly lift the elbows away from the floor and inhale. Moving with your exhalation, turn your whole upper body toward the right engaging the side abdominal muscles with a twist. As you inhale, return to center and press the hands into each other. On your next exhale, twist as far as you can to the left with your upper body, keeping the legs together and lifted.  Return to center as you inhale. Continue to twist right and left on the exhalations, always pausing in center as you inhale to re-lengthen the spine.
Build up slowly, and increase the number of repetitions as you feel stronger. If you have less flexibility in your hamstrings or hips, then you may want to bend the knees slightly.
 

Pranamar Villas and Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa
If you enjoyed this practice and want more, come to  the beautiful Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the surfer’s and yogi’s paradise of Santa Teresa and Pranamar Villas and Yoga Retreat. It’s the perfect blend of surfing and yoga and much more!!

By Nancy Goodfellow, Yoga Instructor at Pranamar Villas & Yoga Retreat