Blog archives for the day Friday, January 13th, 2017

Photo by Emily Franks

At first glance, today seems entirely ordinary. There was coffee and waiting and running errands for our service projects and waiting and catching up on readings and waiting. All in all, Sierpe is a transitionary town. Tourists pass through here on their way to other places, to the Talamancas or the Osa Peninsula. It used to be a banana town, but when the industry relocated in the 1990’s, the town died, according to Doña Magda.

There is a river that borders three sides of the town, scattered with small boats that bob and knock the sides of the wooden docks. There are small shops along the sides of the town that play familiar top 40 music. There are teenagers playing fútbol in the field that is positioned in the center of the town. Sierpe, for our journey and others, is a jump off-town: a place to stop through on your way to grander adventures.

But if you look closer, if you sit on the porch with your host families or watch the river carry water hyacinth, you’ll notice that this place is really full of good things.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the mist settle on the fast-moving river, and listen to the sounds of families cooking breakfast. If you look closely, you may spot a pair of scarlet macaws or a fifteen-foot crocodile peaking its back above the water’s surface. You may notice that the river seemingly shifts directions, the estuary tide changing the direction of its surface. If you glance to the corners and ceilings of restaurants, you’ll notice that all the artwork is made of recycled tires by a woman who runs a local hostel. She’s an artist and a potter and a female creator in this community.

If you take the time to listen, you will hear the stories of the people who live here. Doña Magda, a business owner and well-known name in Sierpe, calls herself “the largest woman in Sierpe”, even though she maintains an almost stick-like figure. She manages Soda Sierpe which rests in the center of the town, as well as cooks, rents rooms, and hopes to start a sewing business, but doesn’t have the proper equipment. She doesn’t know that tomorrow, we will be giving her a sewing machine and other supplies from San José. She knows this town like the back of her hand, and has created a community of early risers, feeding them café, plátanos, and gallo pinto. She took time out of her busy morning to sit with us, to answer our questions, reminding us that no matter how busy we may be, we must always make time to be present with others.

At home, the days tend to move too quickly. We hardly have the time to look up and breath. Sierpe is that slowing that we’ve been seeking. We are taking long, full breaths here. We are spending our afternoons reading and writing and belly laughing by the river. We are taking this time to listen, to reflect. With only two more sleeps until Campanario, we are grateful for the slowing of things.

By Emily

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