back on planet tamarindo

Yes, I've been very much missing in action. I'm still trying to figure out what just happened. I mean, I know what happened because I was there, but still it seems all a blur now. All I know is that I'm really exhausted but in a really good way. I went surfing a couple of hours ago here in front of the surf camp and my arms feel dead. I have a huge grin on my face and all I can think about is surfing, even after ten days of hitting it hard. I'm going to the Liberia airport tonight to pick up my family, which is going to be awesome as its been three weeks since I've seen them. The surf camp is still here, so thats good.

Here's a photo of the hills overlooking Zancudo, a town north of Pavones about 45 minutes. We had some incredible surf in Pavones. I'm waiting for more photos from Tommy Hodges, John Alexander and Joe Cummings, the three guys I took on the tour. Tommy and John took a lot of photos and video but of course while we were on the trip getting on the computer and uploading photos was far from my mind.

The video is really small because it was low tide, also because it was shot on a cell phone, but you get the idea. We scored the day before, it was simply off the hook.

Staying in Pavones was really chill. The sessions were arm burners, literally catching waves into the kiddie pool. I got to spend some time learning about the dark cloud that literally hangs over the cantina there. There seems to be a lot of people who have had some serious trouble there. I had met a guy named Clay there 8 years ago and we surfed together and hung at his house. Supposedly he had just gotten out of the hospital two weeks ago as he was knifed in the Pavones cantina and almost killed, with his jugular hanging out or some rumor bullshit like that. I know I say it all of the time, but its the wild west down here. Especially when you're in a town with ten dudes to every chick and nothing to do but surf and get drunk. I'm the dude chilling in my rocking chair, going to bed early so I can be surfing early the next morning. I'll still be drinking some Imperials of course.
We made our way into Panama after surfing Playa Hermosa, Domincal and then Pavones. Crossing the border is always a trip, there are always sketchy folks that want to either help you with your documents or simply want to rip you off however they can. They make it tough for the good folks. After enough border crossings I actually know a couple of the border guards and its a breeze, but I can imagine if its the first time for someone it would be very daunting. For anyone who cares, finding weed in Panama is harder than anywhere else I've been in the country. I guess its important to say that I'm not going to the typical tourist destinations or to Panama City. In the true Panamanian jungle nobody smokes weed. They do however eat the mushrooms that grow on cow shit. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, or something like that, and before you knew it we didn't care that we didn't have any smokes. We hung out on this empty beach, watching the sun go down and sipping on some Atlas beers in the middle of nowhere. Another insane trip (did I already say that?)


We took off from this bay in the only boat in the village that had a motor. It was an old fishing panga that was slow as shit (I'll post pics later when they get sent to me). I am not lying when I say that once you get off of the coast there are shark traps everywhere. The Panamanians unfortunately practice illegal shark finning, and the whole idea of it made me wonder how many sharks were cruising underneath our boat at that moment. Further up the coast, like something out of the Mosquito Coast, we found empty beach after empty beach. Waterfalls falling directly into the ocean, dense primary jungle meeting the sand. After we left completely flat surf, an hour later we landed the boat in a small rocky cove on low tide and found hollow barrels nearby. It was shoulder to head high, glassy, just us. It was like the kind of dream you wish you could have again and again.

Here's a photo of my rig, a 2001 Toyota Hilux, taken in front of the church in Las Tablas de Panama. I've taken this truck throughout Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama for the last four years. It is the absolute best surf tour vehicle, even if I now need to replace the power steering, the breaks, the rear left window, and the surf racks. I'm glad I put on the halogen lights as in the middle of nowhere they don't have street lamps. I'm also really glad I spent as much time loading music onto my iphone. Some of the bands that got a lot of play were Outkast, Joy Division, Iron & Wine, STP, Johnny Cash, the Vines, DMX, Spoon and tons of Sufjan Stevens including this one:
All%20the%20Trees%20of%20the%20Field%20Will%20Clap%20Their%20Hands.mp3

I will post more soon. For now I'm still in the "back to planet tamarindo" fog. What I do know is that I'm 90% sure that I'm leading another trip to Panama next month, mid September. I'm going to send out a WRSC newsletter blast this week to fill the spots if/when I do, unless I'm contacted and book the trip before I get that far.