The Land of the Lost ….. shoe!

You can find and buy beautiful real estate in Costa Rica, but what can you get for free? Shoes!!! Yes, look around you and you’ll see a sandal here, a boot there or a tennis shoe somewhere else. Since my first day in Costa Rica, I have marveled at the abundance of abandoned shoes. Each time I see another woman’s high heel or man’s work boot, I wonder how someone could lose a shoe and not notice. (I’ve even seen PAIRS of shoes along the side of the road – shoes that still had miles left in them.) Each time I see another one of these lost mates, I wish I had done what I thought of doing when I first noticed the accumulation of shoes: create a wall of shoes a la Christo. Think of the “artistic statement” it would make and what a time capsule it would be with shoes of all shapes, sizes and styles – shoes with pointed toes, round toes, spike heels, wedgies, straps, open toes, laces and buckles. Shoes that slipped on, tied on or buckled up! Each style and material would hearken back to a particular time in history. Imagine archeologists centuries from now discovering the wall, long since buried in dirt, jungle, concrete, lava (maybe!) and the detritus of a lost society. Can’t you picture them contemplating the significance of a Nike swoop? Each year Manuel Antonio, Arenal and the beaches lure more tourists to Costa Rica. Why not the Wall of Shoes?