Day 11, 2012

Today was along day, but totally worth it. We of course made our way to Galería Namu. This fair-trade gallery run by Aisling French did a great job at bringing together artwork and crafts from a diverse population of regional ethnicities. We found a lovely array of Boruca masks, finely woven Wounaan baskets, Guaymí dolls, Bribrí canoes, Chorotega ceramics and Huetar carvings, as well as contemporary urban and Afro-Caribbean crafts. They said they can also help arrange visits to remote indigenous territories in different parts of Costa Rica.

After spending some time in Galería Namu, we headed to Biesanz Woodworks. It was kind of hard to find, but it’s a good thing we had Carlos. The shop is one of the finest wood crafting studios in the nation. It is run by the celebrated artist Barry Biesanz. his bowls and other decorative containers were exquisite and took their inspiration from pre-Columbian techniques. He said the natural lines and forms of the wood determine the shape and size of the bowl.The pieces are expensive (Mine was $85 for a palm-size bowl), but it was so unique and so delicately crafted that it wouldn’t be out of place in a museum.

We decided to eat before we went back to the hotel to rest. We stopped at Restaurante Shakti. It is a neighborhood health-food outpost that  has simple, organic-focused cooking as well as freshly baked goods. There was stuff on the menu like veggie burgers, along with various fish dishes, but most people arrive for the casadoof the day (which is always vegetarian). The plates were so beautiful , the menu was very extended. There were diverse flavors, the smoothies were so good, and the desserts were very  healthy and delicious. The best thing was that they had art every where. there were different paintings and Sculptures of very famous artist from central américa, for sale, so they were constantly changing. It was a great place to eat and hang out after a long day.