Nosara’s Blue Zones
It seems like Costa Rica makes headlines everywhere you look these days: CNN’s top 11 places to go in 2014, NY Times lists Nosara in their TOP 45 Places to Go article, National Geographic’s Top 20 Surf Town includes Nosara, and on and on. In 2004, population researcher Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic and the world’s leading longevity experts to identify pockets around the world where people lived longer and better. He named these areas “Blue Zones”. In these Blue Zones he found healthy, active, and thriving communities, inhabited by an inordinately large concentration of people enjoying life in their 90’s and 100’s. He visited these areas to study the lifestyles, community, diets, etc. in an effort to distill the essence of each Blue Zone and share his findings with the world. Buettner discovered Blue Zones in Japan, Greece, Sardina, and more recently the Nicoya region, which includes Nosara!
Everyone who comes to Safari Surf seems to get swept up in the vibrant energy that defines Nosara. The inviting warm ocean, blazing sun, good food, yoga, amazing surfing, and Pura Vida vibe serve to put the spirit in a happy place. Now to be informed we are encompassed in a Blue Zone – well it all starts to make sense! Spending a week surfing in Nosara is good therapy for the body, mind, and soul. I am convinced that the youthful population of Nosara’s local surf population will yield many future nonagenarians. The defining characteristics of Blues Zones vary from place to place but generally include diet, exercise, lower stress, family, community involvement, worship, and even taking sun! In Nosara surfing can be added to that list. I once heard the ocean referred to as Big Blue. Better add salt water to the list!
My dad and I watched a ‘60 Minutes’ broadcast that featured a California doctor’s recent research and report on an active senior community developed in the 70’s called Leisure World. The doctor looked into old files and records of the original residents. She then went to check up on them, see if they were still ticking, and indeed found that many were still actively enjoying life. My dad lives in a ‘senior’ community in Florida, originally set up for retirees from all branches of the military. I find this to be a very cool place – everyone waves, helps each other, swims, walks, plays golf, square dances, and gathers at the community clubhouse. I attended a weekly dominoes game of 90 somethings and was immediately recruited as a player. It was fun, fast-paced and competitive, and required quick thinking. I was amazed at their sharp minds, wit, and math skills. The 60 Minutes broadcast stated that the largest growing segment of population in the U.S. was that of 90 years olds and higher, who are living longer and better. And from what I have seen in Nosara and Florida, I believe this to be 100% true.
[L to R: Instructor Pio’s folks in Nosara; Dad’s Florida dominoes team; Delightful Sue heads home.]
BLUE ZONE HEADQUARTERS
As I see it, Safari Surf School is a Blue Zone Destination. We all want to get more years out of our life and more life out of our years. A Safari vacation will put you in touch with those things we lose touch with in our busy lives. When is the last time you sat around a dinner table for three hours with new found friends and even your own kids?! Surfing together and immersion in Nosara’s abundant tropical pleasures will do you (and us) a world of good. See you soon and Pura Vida!
