Who We Are
Intense Passion For Nature And Appreciation For Our History
From the very first moments when Sapoa Adventures was born 15 years ago, it was clear to me how important it was to establish clear goals, ethics, and highest integrity. Those same pillars are the ones the entire Sapoa team stands on today.
Our business is not and never will be about the money. It has all been about sharing our intense passion for nature and appreciation for our history. Just like nature and history, we’re always evolving… in perpetual movement. This is what inspired our design and wordmark.
The design of our logo and our wordmark are both inspired on the word ‘Ollin’ from the Nahuatl language.
Ollin, which means “movement”, is the main characteristic of the period known as Sapoa (1100-1350 AD) in the Gran Nicoya region, which roughly comprises the peninsula with the same name in Costa Rica and the South Pacific of Nicaragua. This territory was populated by Nahuatl-speaking groups that arrived in different waves after 800 AD.
During the Sapoa period, the Nahuatl-speaking groups showed a wide and intense command of the resources. The movement of people, products and ideas was intense and very complex.
Our Logo
The interpretation of reality for the Mesoamerican indigenous groups is based on a dual explanation of things, forces and energy.
The way of spelling Ollin in classic nahuatl is by interlacing these two opposite, complementary, balancing forces, leaving an empty space in the middle, a space that is preferential, sacred and separate from the rest. With this, they were able to resolve what many cultures from the old world attempted to resolve unsuccessfully: to represent the divine without using a word or image. This central space of infinite density represents just that; it is all there without the need to be represented.
The Ollin symbol in our logo recalls the good times that my ancestors spent in these lands, and it evokes them asking for protection and representing pride in our origins. It also reminds us about the responsibility we have with the environment and the respect we must have for all living things as equals.
Pabrö Sánchez
Anthropologist
Founder and co-owner of Sapoa Adventures
Indígenous/macehualli, Pipíl-Náhuatl