For many, a spring is simply a natural source of water; However, for residents of Nambi of Nicoya, the waters that originate in their land have strong healing properties.
Hidden in the Los Santos foothills, near the plaza of the National Teachers Association (ANDE-Asociacion Nacional de Educadores), there are salt flats, called salitrales or salobres—where effervescent bubbles reveal where the water comes out.
Patricia Vazquez, who lives in Nambi and is a member of the Nicoya Forest Firefighter Brigade, believes the waters in her neighborhood have healing properties, in addition to being relaxing.
“These waters are incredible. When I use it to bathe, I relax a lot, but when I drink it, it gives me an impressive energy. I had leukemia and I always drank it when they gave me treatments and right away I felt that it helped me,” Vazquez commented.
Vazquez also affirmed that the water works on skin since it helps remove grease and dirt from the face as well as leaving a smoother skin texture.
For his part, Juan Jose Torres, who has two salt fields on his property, commented that he often uses the water to cure any type of skin injury.
Some Properties
Although so far there is no scientific or technical study that reveals the properties of these waters, Pedro Villalobos, from the Tucan Environmental Association, thinks the salt flats of Nambi have large proportions of minerals.
“This water is heavier. In addition, it is slightly warmer water than the rest. This water should be monitored well, but we have noticed that it has a lot of lime, carbon and sodium,” Villalobos explained.
For now, the scientific reason is unknown. The rumor among some neighbors is that some volcanic veins coming from Rincón de la Vieja run under Los Santos hill, while, with less speculation, others attribute the water to a simple hot spring.
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