(Click images to embiggen)

I just returned from a family vacation to Costa Rica. In the capital city of San Jose we met this fellow standing outside the national museum. He was selling his beautiful handmade ocarinas. The smaller ones cost three dollars, and the larger ones cost four dollars.

My daughter bought a large one. It was shaped like a toucan, but we found out that it also was shaped like three other creatures, depending on which way you looked at it.

From the bottom it looked like a demon.

From the top it looked like a pig.

From the front it looked like a fox (I think).

While we were in the museum's courtyard, my daughter figured out how to play the intro to "Smoke on the Water." On our way out, she played it for the ocarina maker. He grabbed one of his ocarinas and played it back!

I'm sorry some of the photos are blurry. I would have taken another photo, but TACA Airlines lost our luggage on the way home, and they are not responding to my calls or e-mails about the luggage's whereabouts. Judging from the generally crappy service we received while flying TACA, I doubt we will ever recover the missing suitcase.

More images after the jump.

Also from my Costa Rica vacation: Coconut face