*** Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review. ***
Secret of Paradise reveals the pathway to sustainable living and
growth
When Bo Rinaldi, stepped off the airplane in Ecuador and he knew that he had landed in paradise. As he met with Patricio Tamariz and his family in 2011 he realized he was being shown the secrets of the past and the keys to our future and that we needed to share these with everyone. Together they decided to collaborate on a book with the express purpose of creating a living roadmap to help achieve harmony with nature and all the people of the world. They titled it the Secret of Paradise, Mysteries of the Pacific Coast of Ecuador.
Patricio Tamariz and his family own Casa Grande, a beautiful retreat right on the tip of Bahía and one of the original sites for the discovery of the Americas. They also own the spectacular and historically breathtaking Eco-resort known as Chirije, an amazing archaeological site, which holds many ancient secrets. Tamariz held the official post of First Executive Director of Tourism Promotion for Ecuador and now consults and helps develop the coastal properties of the area, using sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, tourism, community and businesses of all kinds.
In 1998 the El Niño was at its peak and Bahía was hit by a 7.1 Richter scale earthquake. He and his family, with the help of hundreds of friends and dozens of key agencies, set out to rebuild their area. They rose above that devastation together, and created a movement that resulted in the creation of one of the world’s first and most incredible Bioregional cities, Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador. It is one of the most beautiful places on the planet where the water and the air is 75 degrees, there are virtually no bugs, crime or hazards and it is the key center of interest for the rewarding insights and contained within the pages of Secrets of Paradise.
Did the ancient Ecuadorians populate the Pacific?
Did
the early Ecuadorians sail across the Pacific Ocean on ships made of balsa and
reach Australia? One of the incredible chapters in Secrets of Paradise contains
the first English translations of the accounts of these ancient mariners. 
Kon-Tiki, the new Oscar nominated film accurately dramatizes the 1947 attempt by Thor Heyerdahl to recreate the journey to show that it was possible that the ancient seafarers could travel from Ecuador to Polynesia. Heyerdahl and his five companions sailed their balsa raft for 101 days over 6900 km (4,300 miles) across the Pacific Ocean. The journey ended when they smashed on a reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands on August 7, 1947. The crew successful made it to land and all returned safely.
23
years later, in 1970, Vital Alsar another European explorer achieved what
Heyerdahl had failed to do, and in 161 days sailed on similarly constructed
balsawood vessel from Guayaquil, Ecuador and in 161 days reached Australia,
proving that the maritime cultures of Ecuador had the capacity of traveling
long distances in the Pacific.
Both
Thor and Vital based their vessel designs on the Balsawood vessel used that was
detailed by the first Spanish conquistadors, who had their first documented
encounter with this ship off the Ecuadorian coast in 1526.
Balsa
for his sailing vessel was acquired from a forest in Quevedo, Ecuador and
floated them down the Guayas River to Guayaquil. Here they constructed the raft
in the port of Callao, Peru using the ancient designs and evidence they had
found.
Secrets
of Paradise also describes additional evidence of findings provided by modern
archaeologists that the cultures of the territories of thousands of years ago,
built their balsa ships, and were sailing and trading the Spondylus (Red spiny
oyster) shell to the peoples of pre-Columbian Mexico and Chile.
“Who discovered paradise?”
Another
question discussed in detail “Who settled the Pacific Coast of Ecuador”? Did
Christopher Columbus discover America in 1492? The authors believe not. They
explain why the first humans crossing the Bering Strait Iceland Bridge must
have. There are also accounts of the Vikings being the first Europeans to land
in Ecuador. In addition, there is the theory of the Chinese circumnavigating
the world as early as the 15th century.
“Where does chocolate come from?”
Few
people realize that one of the most important discoveries Columbus made was on
his fourth trip to the New World, where he learned of the cacoa beans (cocoa)
from the fruit that live in the cacao pods of the tree with the same name. The
famous Swedish Scientist Linnaeus, the father of modern Taxonomy, named this
species Theobroma cacao, which means in Greek “Food of the Gods”. Cacao was
cultivated by the pre-Columbian cultures of the tropical South and Central
America thousands of years ago (the Mayans 1500 yrs. ago). The original native
strain of Cacao, scientists declare, comes from the upper Amazon of Ecuador and
Colombia. This area is considered the center of origin of Cacao. Early man
involved in tropical agriculture spread it and introduced it into Central
America.
What is the Secret of Paradise?
Ecuador
is one of the most exciting places on Earth right now, in terms of working
towards a new development paradigm. The government is now the most stable in
recent times and will soon become the longest serving in Ecuador's tumultuous
history. The president's approval ratings are well over 70%. All this is due to
the reorientation of the government's approach, made possible by a constitution
remarkable for its recognition of human rights and the rights of nature, and
its acceptance of plurality and cultural diversity.
Perhaps,
it is the commitment of their government and all their people to the creation
of a biosphere. Ecuador’s government has taken the first actions required to
protect the environment in their new constitution, in effect since October 20,
2008. From the Georgetown University Political Database of the Americas
here is a translated chapter titled, Ecuador Rights of Nature:
Chapter 7: Rights for Nature
Art. 71. Nature or Pachamama,
where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain
and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in
evolution.
Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to
demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms
[organizations]. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow
the related principles established in the Constitution.
The State will motivate natural [individual] and juridical persons
as well as collectives to protect nature; it will promote respect towards all
the elements that form an ecosystem.
Art. 72. Nature has the right to
restoration. This integral restoration is independent of the obligation on
natural and juridical persons or the State to indemnify the people and the
collectives that depend on the natural systems.
In the cases of severe or permanent environmental impact,
including the ones caused by the exploitation on non-renewable natural
resources, the State will establish the most efficient mechanisms for the
restoration, and will adopt the adequate measures to eliminate or mitigate the
harmful environmental consequences.
Art. 73. The State will apply
precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the
extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent
alteration of the natural cycles.
The introduction of organisms and organic and inorganic material
that can alter in a definitive way the national genetic patrimony is
prohibited.
Art. 74. The persons, people,
communities and nationalities will have the right to benefit from the
environment and form natural wealth that will allow wellbeing.
The environmental services cannot be appropriated; its production,
provision, use and exploitation, will be regulated by the State.
Can we learn how to live in harmony and in peace on the planet
Earth using the knowledge being offered to us from the people of Ecuador?
The authors believe that you have now found the keys to this
secret, and that by knowing these, your life will be forever changed as well.
Secrets of Paradise, Mysteries of the Pacific Coast of Ecuador
by Bo Rinaldi and Patricio Tamariz
List
$18.95 softcover also available in Kindle
220
pages with color illustrations and photos
ISBN-10:
0983862303 ISBN-13: 978-0983862307
Our Thoughts
I took Secrets of Paradise with me to read at the cabin, our own little slice of paradise. This was a very informative, detailed read on Ecuador, its history, and all it has to offer. You can easily feel the enormous amount of love Patricio Tamariz has for his country in every word.
While the entire book is interesting, I found the chapters on archeology, chocolate, and UFO's the most fascinating! Sunken ships just fascinate me for some reason, and I'd love a chance to go diving to check underwater treasures! The part about chocolate - I really had no idea how it was grown, and the part about how they figured out the best way to grow it - nature is, well, second nature to me and I always like to learn more about plants & trees. But the UFO's . . . now, these sightings/encounters aren't the scary aliens with big eyes - just lights. Unexplainable lights, witnessed by many, many people there.
I think most of all, I was surprised how affordable it is to live there! Where I live is pretty cheap, and Ecuador is even more affordable than that! Appartments around $200+, houses around $66,000? If not living there all year round, Ecuador would make a great vacation destination! They are moving to sustainable living, an "Eco City", and more countries could certainly benefit from this type of living.
If you're looking to learn about another country, give this a read!
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