I'm so excited to be one of the first to say Merry Christmas to you this morning! I'm not sure if you celebrate this holiday but it's interesting to think about all the billions of people, especially children, sitting around a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree opening gifts and spending time together.
There I go again...trees. Yes, I'm obsessed. So let's talk about them and in particular the Christmas Tree! Apparently, the ancient Egyptians were the first to celebrate trees during the winter solstice time of year because they stayed green all year long - evergreens. What a great way to honor the beauty that surrounds us. The story of the Christmas tree evolves from there and if you want to dive a bit deeper, go here.
I can definitely understand why they celebrated the trees and plants that colored an otherwise cold landscape. Moving from Colorado to the jungle of Panama, I absolutely treasure this life of being surrounded by the vibrant and living landscape of the jungle.
The secret here, as I tell everyone is held in the thousands of species of trees that makeup this vivacious landscape. Some of the most prominent trees that make up the beauty of our location are the mangrove that line the estuary.
There are two types of mangrove here at Morrillo Beach Eco Resort: Red, and Tea Leaf. They also have a huge friend called the Mora Oleifera who lives among the mangroves so many people think it too is a species of mangrove. On the left here you see a small seedling of the Mora Oleifera (seedling on the right) which is a tree that has been adopted the mangrove family.
It's a small seedling but a HUGE seed. The seed of the Mora Oleifera is the largest dicot seed of its kind. The seeds are distributed by floating away like mangrove seeds which is why many people think it is a type of mangrove. They wash up on the beaches along with all the other of types of drift seeds but are by far the largest seeds on the beach (see below right).
The mangrove is essentially the nursery of the sea making it incredible to explore and critical to the health of our planet. They provide habitat, erosion control, tsunami defense, medicines, absorb carbon, and clean the ocean.
If you want to learn a bit more join us on a SUP tour through the mangrove systems around us. We celebrate our trees this holiday season by planting more, sharing knowledge about them with our guests, and making huge plans for the future that we will share with you all soon or sooner when you come stay with us.
We are sending you all big love and hugs this holiday season and hope we get to see you soon.
Your Friends in Morrillo,
Cari and Ryan Mackey
Owners and Hosts
Morrillo Beach Eco Resort