This was supposed to be about Guayabo National Monument, but it turned into a highly subjective, poorly researched lesson on Costa Rican history.
Where are all the Mayan and Aztec ruins in Costa Rica? Other than the occasional giant, stone Diquis sphere being used as an oversized lawn ornament, the indigenous presence is decidedly absent here. Somewhere beyond all the zip-lining, scuba-diving, turtle-watching and other hyphenated, modern ecotourism (hyphenated?) activities, there has to be some ancient history in this gringo-manufactured paradise.
Modern Costa Rica has everything today because of what it didn't have before. Tropical rainforests, pristine beaches, smoldering volcanoes, untouched wildlife: these exist in every Latin American country. What set Costa Rica apart from the beginning was a lack of gold, silver and other precious minerals. These formed the economic foundation of the giant Aztec, Maya and Olmec indigenous civilizations that developed elsewhere in the region. Those guys stayed away from the poor, gold-deprived lands of present-day Costa Rica.
How did this affect modern Costa Rica? As rapper Notorious B.I.G. once famously stated: "More money, More problems." These precious minerals also attracted Spanish European colonists, AKA conquistadors. They weren't very happy to see "uncivilized" heathen, brown people possessing precious gold and silver which should -according to their Catholic God- rightfully be theirs.
The Spaniards went on a divine campaign to kick some serious indigenous ass in order to get their hands on the Bling-Bling. Hundreds of years of Spanish ass-kicking (along with the help of imported diseases) eventually resulted in a very hierarchical, military colonial system throughout most of Latin America. Spanish Europeans were on top, mixed mestizos were in the middle and (as always) the brown people stayed on the bottom. Not surprisingly, there was some resentment.
Costa Rica came out pretty lucky...historically speaking.
Of course, pre-Costa Rica had some brown people, but what few remained were almost completely destroyed by Spanish military and diseases. There weren't indigenous people left to form hierarchies. Perhaps you've noticed Costa Ricans are pretty "white?" This lack of gold, plus the challenging geography of the Central and Talamanca Mountain ranges, resulted in Spain giving the area low-priority status on its Bling-Bling treasure hunt.
A few of the more laidback, peaceful Spaniards found they enjoyed Costa Rica's fertile Central Valley and its quiet beaches. They decided to take a little siesta while their gold-hungry, bloodthirsty kin continued indigenous ass-kicking annihilation throughout Latin America. Fighting? Military Campaigns? Mae, that's so much work... These relaxed dudes set up small, family farms and pretty much stayed out of each others' business for the next couple hundred years.
Pura Vida. This laidback, friendly farmer's attitude persists to this day in Costa Rica. It explains why the country was quite happy to abolish its military in 1948 and continue chilling out on the beach. Meanwhile other Latin American countries' histories of hierarchical, military colonial rule resulted in long festering resentment and a general, small child's "It's-Not-Fair-Wah-Wah" crybaby attitude.
Ironically, people attempted to solve this problem by continuing their Spanish oppressor's tradition of colonial-style, ass-kicking by means of a series of military juntas and coup d'etats that changed with the frequency of a woman's mood in the worst stages of PMS. Costa Rica became attractive to American and European tourists since they didn't have to worry about their tranquil, all-inclusive beach resort being suddenly turned into a military base for another egotistical, black sunglasses-wearing dictator waving around a copy of "The Communist Manifesto."
I am simplifying this a little. Research names like Braulio Carrillo and Jose Figueres Ferrer for more thorough information.
Anyway, Costa Rica's peaceful history has made it today's standard for ecotourism. Ziplines, trekking, turtle-watching and other environmental-friendly, artificially created activities form the backbone of the tourist industry. But its lack of minerals and the indigenous people that originally depended on it means it is one of the few Latin American countries that lack spectacular ancient ruins such as Teotihuacan, Copan and Macchu Picchu.
There is one ancient ruin in Costa Rica: Guayabo National Monument. I was going to write about it here, but I have already gotten way too far off track. In true Costa Rica "Pura Vida," fashion: it can wait until tomorrow.
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| A Primitive Diquis Lawn Ornament |
Modern Costa Rica has everything today because of what it didn't have before. Tropical rainforests, pristine beaches, smoldering volcanoes, untouched wildlife: these exist in every Latin American country. What set Costa Rica apart from the beginning was a lack of gold, silver and other precious minerals. These formed the economic foundation of the giant Aztec, Maya and Olmec indigenous civilizations that developed elsewhere in the region. Those guys stayed away from the poor, gold-deprived lands of present-day Costa Rica.
How did this affect modern Costa Rica? As rapper Notorious B.I.G. once famously stated: "More money, More problems." These precious minerals also attracted Spanish European colonists, AKA conquistadors. They weren't very happy to see "uncivilized" heathen, brown people possessing precious gold and silver which should -according to their Catholic God- rightfully be theirs.
The Spaniards went on a divine campaign to kick some serious indigenous ass in order to get their hands on the Bling-Bling. Hundreds of years of Spanish ass-kicking (along with the help of imported diseases) eventually resulted in a very hierarchical, military colonial system throughout most of Latin America. Spanish Europeans were on top, mixed mestizos were in the middle and (as always) the brown people stayed on the bottom. Not surprisingly, there was some resentment.
Costa Rica came out pretty lucky...historically speaking.
 |
| Costa Rica Had No Bling-Bling |
A few of the more laidback, peaceful Spaniards found they enjoyed Costa Rica's fertile Central Valley and its quiet beaches. They decided to take a little siesta while their gold-hungry, bloodthirsty kin continued indigenous ass-kicking annihilation throughout Latin America. Fighting? Military Campaigns? Mae, that's so much work... These relaxed dudes set up small, family farms and pretty much stayed out of each others' business for the next couple hundred years.
Pura Vida. This laidback, friendly farmer's attitude persists to this day in Costa Rica. It explains why the country was quite happy to abolish its military in 1948 and continue chilling out on the beach. Meanwhile other Latin American countries' histories of hierarchical, military colonial rule resulted in long festering resentment and a general, small child's "It's-Not-Fair-Wah-Wah" crybaby attitude.
Ironically, people attempted to solve this problem by continuing their Spanish oppressor's tradition of colonial-style, ass-kicking by means of a series of military juntas and coup d'etats that changed with the frequency of a woman's mood in the worst stages of PMS. Costa Rica became attractive to American and European tourists since they didn't have to worry about their tranquil, all-inclusive beach resort being suddenly turned into a military base for another egotistical, black sunglasses-wearing dictator waving around a copy of "The Communist Manifesto."
I am simplifying this a little. Research names like Braulio Carrillo and Jose Figueres Ferrer for more thorough information.
Anyway, Costa Rica's peaceful history has made it today's standard for ecotourism. Ziplines, trekking, turtle-watching and other environmental-friendly, artificially created activities form the backbone of the tourist industry. But its lack of minerals and the indigenous people that originally depended on it means it is one of the few Latin American countries that lack spectacular ancient ruins such as Teotihuacan, Copan and Macchu Picchu.
There is one ancient ruin in Costa Rica: Guayabo National Monument. I was going to write about it here, but I have already gotten way too far off track. In true Costa Rica "Pura Vida," fashion: it can wait until tomorrow.
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| Guayabo National Monument |
Dude, send me back your email adress, lost it and need some tips about Midwest stuffs :-)
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