Finding La Tortuga

Finding La Tortuga is rooted in the philosophy of place. These film and watercolour pieces are not just images; they are meditations on the journey toward the unexpected, the way location shapes memory and meaning.

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I was living in a quiet mountain valley in Panama when I first set out to find La Tortuga. I biked over a mountain, down rutted dirt roads, through small villages where a passing foreigner was a rare sight. When my tires burst from the rough terrain, I slung the bike over my shoulder and continued on foot, guided only by a whim and fragmentary directions. Near the end of the road, we stopped at a dirt-floor home to ask about the waterfall. A family there sent their children to guide us, and together we arrived at La Tortuga, swimming in the cool water under the bright jungle light.

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Moments like this (where effort, chance, and place converge), have marked my life. They are reminders of how far from home we can wander, and how the world meets us with unexpected gifts when we follow the quiet pull of curiosity. Finding La Tortuga is my attempt to hold that fleeting intersection of journey and belonging on paper.