BALANCING ROCK
GARDEN IN COSTA RICA
G'day folks,
Here is a great memorial dedicated to a murdered conservationist and his pioneer wife.
Years ago, a man named Jake made a daily pilgrimage to the Piedra
Colorada area of the Southern Nicoya Peninsula to build balanced rock
statues along the shore. He would rebuild the sculptures that were
knocked over by the tide and create new statues to add to the remaining
collection every day.
When he moved away, travelers continued the tradition to ensure the
beach would be continually marked with the delicate and often perplexing
balanced rock statues called cairns. The quietude of the cairns
surrounds the final resting place for Nicolas Wessberg. With his wife,
Karen Mogensen, Wessberg convinced the Costa Rican government to create
its first protected nature reserve. They established the nearby Cabo
Blanco in the early 1970s, and today, the two trails that travel through
the preserve are called the Swede’s path and Dane’s trail, after their
respective home countries.
Many environmentalists from around the world followed their lead, buying
acres of Costa Rican land to ensure that no development would mar the
complex ecosystem that is Costa Rica. Today, its the home of two UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. Conservation was not a popular idea just a few
decades, ago, though. In 1975, Mogensen found her husband’s bones near
Corcovado, where he was focusing his last protective efforts. While
never proven, the commonly held belief is that he was assassinated by
those that wished to exploit that land. A plaque honoring the duo’s
efforts, perseverance, and vision now stands amidst the fitting tribute
of the cairns.
Clancy's comment: Well, good for them. I love these balancing rocks.
I'm ...
