A definition of paradise must be, it seems, utopian as the world's, and by extension, humanity's problems have arrived, or indeed have always been upon even the most distant shores. Behind the picturesque white washed walls and ingenious bamboo frames, lie poverty, pollution and violence. After walking along the colorful beachfront bas and clothing shops, down the unpaved Calle Comercio with its internet cafes and liquor stores, deeper into the interior, down the length of the bumpy and worn jungle airstrip, I find the piles of trash, skin and bone animals and the families squatting in unfinished or dilapidated ruins of houses. The police presence is ubiquitous.
The search for paradise itself brings with it a variety of orientalism, seeing these isolated hamlets, their residents and environs as exotic and desirable, while overlooking the reality of these places that often is lying directly in front of us, or just beneath the surface.
