A Lovely Mola from Costa Rica

My in-laws went on a trip to Costa Rica after Christmas and they brought back a traditional mola for me. My mother-in-law says this one was not made for the tourist trade, as it has more geometric elements than birds and flowers which are more typical of souvenirs. However, knowing that I'm a bird lover, she purchased one with two lovely swan-like or stork-like figures in the upper half. This scan does not show the full design which is symmetrical, I just couldn't get it all on the scanner. My husband received one appliqued to a t-shirt which features two large bird figures surrounded by small flowers.

The big story of their trip was the earthquake which hit the region they were visiting. My father-in-law, mother-in-law and her 92 year old father were sitting in a restaurant when it started shaking and cracking. Some tourists who were climbing along a ridge visiting the waterfall were tragically killed. The tourists staying at their lodge were all safe and but had to be helicoptered out of the area (still saying "thanks, God" about that !). I'm still waiting to see their photos and video.