Guanacaste Costa Rica

At the end of the dry season, around mid-March to mid-June, you can see hillsides of Guanacaste painted orange with the brilliant blooms of the malinche tree (Delonix regia). This photo is an outstanding example of a tree in full bloom at Tamarindo. There are also bushes here that are called malinches as well, as they have similar, but more sparse flowers. There are about 60 species of trees that are common in Costa Rica. The Guanacaste Province is named after the graceful legumimous tree known as the Guanacaste, which can grow quite large, has a rounded and broad crown, and can have a trunk diameter of up to 7 feet. It is the national tree of Costa Rica, and is also known as the "elephant ear tree" because of the shape of the bean pods it produces.

In April and May, you can see the different types of Roble Sabanas, or savannah oaks, blooming. They aren't really oaks. There are two types that are common in Guanacaste, one that has yellow blooms and another that has rose-colored blooms. Both of them bloom prolifically and brighten the dry landscape during summer with welcome color. There are several species of live oaks, commonly called encino, which make acorns prolifically. It seems like the local striped squirrels don't really like to eat them, because they fall mostly uneaten on the forest floor.

There are several trees that have large buttress roots, the above-ground, serpentine supports that spread out from the trunk and outward above the soil for support. The YouTube video here shows a good example of what buttress roots look like. There are also some trees here with prop roots that branch out at 3-4 feet above ground and prop up the tree. The theory behind these kinds of roots is that the soils are poor in the region so the roots are shallow. For that reason, they need to make some kind of support to keep them erect.

After Christmas and New Years, the fiesta season begins in Costa Rica. The Fiestas Civicas of Liberia occur in late February to early March, lasting about 10 days in total. During this festive time, one can see many different horse parades (topes) with one of them occurring at night, twice a day bull riding events during most days of the week, traditional music played on marimbas and several other special events. The bull riding events occur in an arena that is built stick-by-stick every year in the fair grounds in the north part or town near the police headquarters. There, you can also take carnival rides, eat some interesting regional foods and dance salsa or cumbia in several different temporary cantinas that are set up near the arena.