It has been so interesting to live in a place with such a unique culture! Over the past couple days we have visited the local town of Puerto Jimenez, searched for more turtles, and learned the local art of making dream catchers!
Our trip to Puerto Jimenez was a fantastic example of the local culture. The town is simply one street with a few shops and restaurants on either side, and more surprisingly than the size of the town was the type of shops in the area. Everything was hand made by local artists or craftsman! The emphasis on art itself let alone sustainable craft, using natural clay, wood, or bone, to make crafts or tools and sell them to support their lifestyle was simply fascinating! The people in this area live in harmony with the environment and it is absolutely beautiful!
The work with turtles shows the same earthly harmony. The people of the Osa Peninsula have learned that their previous acts of poaching and hunting sea turtles and their eggs is negatively affecting the environment and the world around them, so they embrace the opportunity to live off eco-tourism and protect the turtles instead! I am constantly fascinated by how much respect the people here have for their environment, and I wish more people throughout the world could share this passion for the world we live in!
We were lucky enough to have a hands-on experience with the natural crafts receiving a lesson on making dream catchers complete with our very own to take home! The people working with the sea turtle project recommended we take lessons from a man just down the road, because their method of advertisement is good old word of mouth. This man learned his craft from another man we met in town who also creates beautiful jewelry, and he was nice enough to bring all the materials to our cabins and demonstrate for us. We all left with beautiful dream catchers made of wood, shells, bamboo, and seeds found in the environment we were living in. What a wonderful memento of the earth friendly culture we were so lucky to experience!
