Spider, web and leaf from Barro Colorado Island hike
The last day of our Panama trip was spent hiking onBarro Colorado Island, the home of the Smithsonian Research Institute. Ten of us climbed the steps and listened intently as each of the rainforest wonders was explained. Among the literally hundreds of photos taken on our five-day visit to Panama was this happy accident. I pointed, zoomed and hoped the image stabilizer did its job. It did. We had watched this colorful little spider working for some minutes when I decided I might be able to capture him digitally.
Over the years we've brought home our share of souvenirs from other countries, trying in some way to capture the culture and memories in something tangible. Lately it has dawned on us that these small tangibles are taking over our house. Knowing this, however, did not keep us from purchasing 3 small items to add to our collection of favorite things. The first was a basket woven by some members of the Embera Indigenous People of Panama. It is tightly woven and designs are colored with natural plant dyes. To see more examples of art by Indigenous People of Panama, click this link.
Small basket (about 5 inches diameter) from Embera People
Below are two tagua carvings. Tagua is known as the environmentally friendly ivory. The carvings are done on the extremely durable white enterior of the Tagua nut/seed. Here are the two we purchased at a local market.
Carving of a common rainforest poison dart frog
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