Lovin' life in Cambutal...

After Venao, of which I forgot to take any real pictures, I made my way further west along and across the Azuero peninsula to a sweet little spot called Cambutal.  I'd gotten a heads-up about this place from a few people, and it didn't disappoint.

I posted up at what was formerly called the Cambutal Beach Club, which apparently was connected with a larger development that never quite took off.  Bad for them I guess, but good for me as Nookie and I had a giant Palapa all to ourselves.  I strung up the hammock, took the Ruckus off the front of the rig, and had the run of the place.  Right across the street was the "headquarters" of the nearby National Park, but I never saw anybody there.  Also across the street was a restaurant/bar run by a woman named Nubia?(never got the official spelling), but food was $2 or $3 per plate, depending on whether it was simply chicken, or something fancier like tuna or shrimp--but plenty of pretty good food for not much $$.  Beers are 50 cents.  I liked the vibe and the Panamanians really like their beer.  You'd see a table of 3 or 4 dudes with 20 or 30 beer cans after an afternoon of drinking and talking.  But they seem a very happy group and I didn't witness any sort of confrontational behavior, just smiles.

Nookie's shady home for awhile.

Park office right across the street--nobody ever was there.

The beach in Cambutal/Las Buzos

More perspective.

There were several Canadians, Americans, and some other various and assorted Europeans in the area, but really, not much goes on there, which is nice.  There are several good reef breaks just up the road, and I surfed every day but one (out of 8 days there). I also got a ride up the beach beyond where the Ruckus can take me with a guy from California named Chris.  This spot breaks at lower tides and is even further out of town where there is not really any sort of development--no electric, no houses, not really anything.  It's pretty much the end of the road, though I hear there are a few small villages accessible only by boat.  The next place down the coast is the giant Cerro Hoyo National Park, so things are pretty remote here.

Lot's of cool rocks up at the rivermouth break.

There were a couple of fishermen working the area pretty hard.

Nice right.  Note the guy paddling for size.  Probably a head-high set on this one.

The wind was howling offshore or sideshore most days, like 20-30 mph.  This was nice to keep cool hanging out in the evenings and for sleeping, but could wreak havoc on the waves.  A couple of mornings the waves got blown out by the hard winds.  The winds also blew some of the warmer water offshore and allowed some cooler water to fill in--I'd wager it was close to 70 degrees.  That's not cold by most standards, but compared to the 80 degree-plus water I've been surfing for nearly a year now, it was quite bracing.  The wind also was hot and dry--wet clothes hung on a line seemed to dry in a matter of minutes.  That desiccating wind dried out lips and limbs really quickly, so lip balm and sunscreen were a must.

I took a quick video while driving up the beach.  Sorry for the shakiness and poor quality, but so be it.




After a good week plus in Cambutal, the swell on the Pacific side appeared to dry up completely.  However, the Caribbean side at Bocas del Toro looked to be firing, so I made the decision to pack up the rig and head over.  I planned to overnight in David, then make the drive over the mountains to the Caribbean coast.  Unfortunately, things have not worked out as planned.

Up next, Indigenous peoples apparently hate Nookie, too!  As always, more to come!!!

Costa Rica hates Nookie...

When last I wrote, I had made it to the Costa Rica border at Paso Canoas with little trouble.  That was soon to change.  On my vehicle import permit paperwork, there were an assortment of dates, including my "leave by" date, 90 days (or thereabouts) from my entry into the country.  I apparently developed some sort of deficiency in my date-reading ability during my stay in Esterillos, as I misread the actual leave date by ONE full day.  Well, I got my comeuppance at the border.  After waiting in line for an hour or so and filling out some of the paperwork, the helpful lady at the Aduana window informed me that I was just over 12 hours late leaving the country, and that it was a "big" problem.  She told me I would have to come back the next day, as it was Sunday and the neighboring bank was closed.  The bank at which I would have to pay some sort of "multa" or fine for my infraction.  I took a room at the scenic Hotel Real Victoria, and the pictures don't quite do it justice.  It's not the best hotel I've ever stayed in--let's leave it at that...

Nookie in front of the lovely hotel in Paso Canoas.

Yup!  Sums it up for sure...

I came back the next day and promptly paid my $125 (U.S$) fine, and then was informed I could leave Costa Rica, but would be unable to bring Nookie back across their border for 3 months.  I asked why, was told I had violated the law, asked again, was told the same thing, and no amount of protesting seemed to make a difference.  I sought out some of the "helpers" always willing to give a hand to travelers crossing the borders in Central America, and they all looked at me forlornly and told me there was nothing they could do. I enlisted the help of an "Aduanero" or a sort of customs/import agent, and he couldn't do anything about it after assuring me that he could.  So, bottom line, Costa Rica plain doesn't like Nookie.  Their loss, I guess.

So into Panama I went, a bit frustrated from the border experience but resigned to the fact that I would most likely be spending the next 3 months here.  I had done the least amount of research on Panama of any of the countries I visited, but had heard that there were some waves to be had around the Boca Chica area.  Actually waves that break on nearby islands, as Boca Chica sits at the mouth of a large river/estuary complex.  I made my way down a fairly long, windy, bumpy road, and made it into the town.  I actually made it all the way to the dock where vacationers take small launches and ferries over to a nearby island resort, but not the kind of ferry Nookie could handle.

I made an Austin Powers-style 15-point turn to get back up to the main road, and tried to find a place to bed down for the evening.  I stumbled down a couple of dead end roads, found a place that charged $200 a night, and then found the good guys at www.gonefishingpanama.com who set me up with a room more in my meager budget range.  There really weren't any camping options and I was tired and sweaty after the border and a good chunk of the day driving.

View from the bar at the lodge.

From the front.

Nookie getting a little shade.

I had a few beers, talked to the guys who run the place, had a great piece of fish for dinner, and had a great night's sleep.  The next morning, after breaking my fast, I chatted up a few of the guys who worked there.  I quickly realized that boat trips to the island breaks were out of my budget, especially with no other surfers around.  They told me I should definitely go to a place just up the road called las Lajas.  I was warned, however, that it was still the last day of Carnivale, a huge pre-Lenten celebration that apparently is observed rigorously all over Panama.

As I pulled into the beach at las Lajas, several thousand revelers and festivarians were having a grand time, but the scene was supremely chaotic, there was nowhere really to camp, and the Reggaeton music was so loud I thought my ears would bleed, and I like some loud music.  So I made an executive decision to just keep on driving, maybe to a place I'd heard of called Santa Catalina, or maybe to another place called Venao.

I missed the turn to Santa Catalina a few hours later, and not wanting to backtrack, decided to make for Venao, deep on the Azuero peninsula.  I had to push on driving well past dark until I was able to find a place to stay in a little place called Pedasi, nice, but no real surfing options.  The next morning I got on the road relatively early and made it to Venao by lunch.

Venao is a pretty remote spot, very idyllic, and also very crowded and most definitely on the backpacker circuit.  The wave was a thigh-high closeout beachbreak with about 30 people sitting in the water, a beach restaurant that charged $10 for a hamburger, and $2.50 for a beer, though I had a decent spot to camp in Nookie for only $5  I'd heard talk of things being much cheaper in Panama, and this did not quite fit with my expectations.

Only pic I managed to get of the beach at Venao.

The guy who ran the place I stayed in Pedasi (Bobby, from Mississippi!) gave me a heads-up on a place called Cambutal, further down the road from Venao.  I'd also heard about it from some friends in Esterillos, so I made my way there the next day.  And stayed a week.  And would have stayed longer, but I wanted to spend some time in Bocas del Toro while it was flat on the Pacific side.

Next up, Cambutal, and it was freakin' sweet.  As always, more to come!!!