Pearl Swirl Necklace and Costa Rica

I spent the morning editing the curriculum vitae of a lovely Colombian woman whom I got to know while living in Costa Rica. She was the director of a community-based environmental organization whose goal was to protect the nearby mountains and watershed area. I hiked those mountains every week with friends, and was utterly captivated by them.

So here I was, thinking back about my three years in Costa Rica. When I'm thinking about Costa Rica, my thoughts often stray from the beautiful mountains of the interior to the wonderful beaches on the Caribbean coast. Unlike the Atlantic side, which is filled with tourists, the Caribbean side has stayed more true to its roots, and life is less ruled by foreigners. Our favorite restaurant in Costa Rica was there -- Pecora Nera -- and our favorite beaches -- Punta Uva and Playa Chiquita. When I wasn't eating Italian food or floating in the warm waters of the Caribbean, I was walking the long length of the beach looking for interesting shells. It was thoughts of those shells that led me to create today's design, which I call my "Pearl Swirl Necklace". It would have been the perfect thing to wear, after a wonderful day at the beach, while drinking a glass of wine and waiting for Illario to bring out his magical food.

If you want to learn any more about the mountains of Costa Rica, and the wonderful plants and animals that inhabit them, you can do no better than to read the blog of another good friend of mine about her own piece of paradise http://fincaeltigre.blogspot.com/