SANTA LUCIA SPRINGS ETERNAL

Summer has arrived in Costa Rica as it does every year. It begins at the end of November and runs through end April. With the dry season come the tourists from all over the world. Many come from Europe and North America seeking a respite from the cold winter. Not only do the visitors get to bask in the warm sunshine and blue skies but they also get to experience the bounty of summer flowers that emerge as the rains come to an end.

It is amazing how many flowers bloom in the dry part of the year. They are everywhere you look. One of the most conspicuous and plentiful is Santa Lucia. It is one of the first summer flowers to emerge and signals to the country that the heavy rains of October and early November have come to an end.

Santa Lucia seems to bloom great numbers overnight. One day it is nowhere to be seen and the next day it is everywhere. It grows n fields, hillsides, along the roads, anywhere that there is plenty of sunshine. Alone it is a pretty little periwinkle colored flower atop a weed-like plant. But in numbers it becomes spectacular. It turns entire pastures into beautiful blue ocean meadows.

Santa Lucia also has a secret. Costa Rica tradition says that if you pick a flower and place it in your wallet, you will always have money. Some say that it only works with the white Sana Lucia flowers which are in smaller numbers. Either way, there are plenty of both colors at Monte Azul so why take a chance. Pick a flower of each color put it in your wallet. This way you will be assured of having enough money for your return visit to Costa Rica.