People often have asked me the last few years especially, where I get my creative inspiration from. They frequently assume it's from television and movies. To be fair, I am sure I am influenced by both of those mediums but there really is nothing that sparks my imagination like a trip to a museum with a bit of history and a bit of science not to mention endless amounts of art. I recently spent 11 days in Costa Rica and will write about my experiences all through this week. It was an adventure to say the least. I should began with saying I did not spend the 11 days on the beaches like most people do. I was actually told multiple times that I visited places in Costa Rica most people, not even people who live there go to visit. Fair enough. Some of them were not particularly easy to get to and I may have even at times been in a little over my head. But I made it back with world-view widening experiences which is pretty much what I want most of all these days- and stories to tell with pictures, preferably. I did get to spend a little time on beaches as well as in the city of San Jose which is where this week's posts will start.
The first place I visited was part of the inspiration for my second novel Armand El Dorado. If you can guess from the title the myth of the city of El Dorado plays a part in the story. Now this myth did not originate in Costa Rica but it's influence reaches across the lands of Central America. The Pre-Columbian tribes traded in this region to gain the gold that they had. One of the more ironic things I think I learned was that the legend of the Golden City was not even based on gold from the region. In fact, at the time many of the things were made, there was almost no mining happening in Costa Rica or Colombia. All the gold came from other parts of the world. And not in particularly large quantities. El Dorado was a constructed fantasy created to mislead those explorers looking to take advantage of the people. The golden king was a tribes leader who would lead a ceremony that included tossing small golden artifacts into a lake in Colombia. Lake Guatavita to be precise.
The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum is a well-laid out time line of the history of the region. Using not only golden artifacts to walk you through Costa Rica's rich history but also quite a bit of musical instruments. I actually rather regret not buying a replica of an ocarina which plays such a role in the world of the indigenous people. It is the most comprehensive collection of gold artifacts outside of Colombia.
Here are some pictures from my trip to the museum. I would suggest having at least 2-3 hours for a visit. Plus, the area outside the museum is lovely to walk around.
Thank you for visiting. I look forward to sharing more of my experiences.