Carole's "Gotta Have It" Trip to Sarchi

I (Carole) have been whining that we have been completely occupied in the UPeace course and Dave's sabbatical interviews, and that I just wanted to go to Sarchi, which is known as an artisan community, as well as the best place to do my inevitable sourvenir shopping! So today, we hired a taxi (for a small fortune, I might add) and took off for Sarchi. Well, friends and family, don't hold your breath for the souvenirs!

Sarchi is, indeed, a key artisan town in Costa Rica, best known for the highly ornate oxcarts that are handcrafted there. The oxcarts are a national symbol of Costa Rica, as they played a key role in the country’s history, transporting coffee beans to markets. Sarchi is also the home of dozens of wooden furniture and souvenir stores that sell wood bowls and trays to carved utensils, jewelry and masks. The carved furniture made here is gorgeous.

Besides the handicrafts, there is also an unusual church that is painted pink and blue. Built in the 1950’s, the two-towered church sits on a hill overlooking the town. I shouldn't be complaining, it was just a long, hot, disappointing, expensive trip!

Traveling around here in Costa Rica can be a real hoot, as there are no street names or street names or addresses, as such. For example, if you want to have the dinner at Doris Metropolitan, where we're going tonight, the directions are "Behind the Church of Santa Ana, northeast corner, San Jose, Costa Rica." To get to Dave's interview with the Deputy Minister for Peace tomorrow afternoon, the directions are "Office of the Ministry for Justice and Peace, located in San José, Barrio Luján. 25 mts north from the main offices of the PANI." To get back to our hotel, we give the taxi driver a business card with the map below on the back. I have no idea how people ever find anything, but it seems to work (although our taxi drivers will relatively often either stop another taxi to ask for directions or make a phone call to their dispatcher or the destination).