More than half of the Costa Rican territory is covered by forests. This is something to be proud of as it is a result of the country´s ecological conscience. Recovery of forest areas has been going on since the late 1980´s, reverting the deforestation that went on from the 1940´s up to the early 1980´s due to the cattle raising and agricultural boom. As you travel along the country, you get used to seeing all that green. Even in urban areas, along rivers, parks, and even right in the cities between sidewalks and streets, at the houses´ and buildings’ backyards, you can find big trees. They provide shade in hot days, host all sorts of wildlife, like squirrels, howler monkeys, orchids attached to their trunks and the hundreds of varieties of birds that inhabit or visit our country in their migratory cycles. To the untrained eye, the diversity of those trees can go unnoticed. But when it is time for them to bloom, they provide amazing colors and scenes worth of photographing and painting that everybody admires.
This wonder Mother Nature shares with us happens along this time of the year, at the peak of the dry season, within the months of March and April. In Guanacaste, the feeling of dryness, with fields turning brown and yellow and most of the trees losing almost all their leaves that has been going on since late December, is suddenly revitalized by the blossoms. Several photographers, book authors, and social media pages have dedicated their efforts into the immortalization of the fairy tale scenes that occur at this time of the year.
A couple of trees offer the most dramatic tones. One of them is the Corteza Amarilla that loses almost all of its leaves turning into a single super bright yellow bouquet. Another star of the moment is the Tabebuia Ochracea tree, locally known Roble Sabana. This one gets covered by big pink flowers that might resemble the typical Cherry blossoms found on other latitudes. In Guanacaste, the Malinche tree is very popular its flowers are bright orange.
The great thing is that each tree may blossom more than once, so this colorful spectacle lasts for two months usually. Another detail that brightens up our pleasant existence in this paradise.
Credits to: Federico Fernandez