Panama

Pretty rural countryside in Panama.

The look & vibe of the Panamanian countryside is similar to their neighbor to the north, Costa Rica. Sometimes, when driving on the country roads, getting there is half the fun.

Ciruelo, Panama. This just looked like such an idyllic spot when we pulled up for a surf check : a quaint little cottage built right on the beach, good fishing and diving just offshore, and a surf spot out on the point. Just pull your boat up on the beach right in front. So peaceful. This is the kind of thing we'd daydream of back in school (and later, at work).

This was, of course, a surf trip above all else. The main destination was Santa Catalina (above), widely considered to be the best wave in the country. The surf way off in the distance in this pic is a LOT bigger than you'd think, probably 10-12 feet. This area has a huge tide range, so at low tide you have a bit of a hike to get to the water. As for the pic to the right : nothing like arriving at your destination and finding out the airline broke one of your boards. That's the level of service you get for your $75 bag fee. No worries; I had a spare. Which I promptly broke here at Santa Catalina. This was a tough trip for my boards.

Panama City, Panama. It's not all rainforest here - this is the "city" side of Panama.

The Pacific shoreline near Panama City.

Venado, Panama. I hate to end a good country's webpage on a sad note but this pic shows a problem that is all too common along many of the world's shorelines these days : insane amounts of plastic pollution in the world's oceans. Far from being just Panama's fault, picking through this trash-pile will turn up bits of plastic that have floated in from all over the world. And what we see washed up on the beach is, I'm sure, the tip of the iceberg compared to what's floating around the world's oceans. I do think that it's good that the ocean barfs this stuff back onto our beaches so we at least have to look at it, and we're made more aware of the problem, Now, the next tough step is to do something about it.