The plan for the weekend was to drive to the Caribbean coast to a deserted beach that my brother and his friend Vittorio knew about to camp and surf for the weekend. We got up early and drove the 2 and a half hours or so and found the small dirt road that would (we hoped) take us to the cove we were looking for. Andy and Vittorio had been there before, but it is such a remote cove you have to hire someone with a boat to take you around a few rocky cliffs to reach it. But they were convinced we could get there by car. We drove up through the hills and a few times had to open random gates to continue through, but eventually we almost made it there. We'd have been able to drive there but ran into a small river blocking the road, and since Vittorio's car is a BMW hatchback, we decided against trying to forge the water. There was a house nearby, so Vittorio went up to it to ask where to go from there, if we could park on their property, etc. The 2 people that lived there were very nice and led us to the cove we were seeking, even helping to carry all our stuff, as we were loaded with coolers, tents, surfboards, water jugs, etc. It was about a 20 minute walk but at last we made it to the cove. Not at all what we wanted. It was a very stormy weekend, which had washed tons and tons of trash and driftwood on to the beach. The tide was so high there was barely any sand to walk on, nonetheless to camp on. We stayed there for about a half hour and had some beers while we decided what to do. The people we had met said we could camp on their property if we needed to, so we thought wed at least go back and talk to them about options. So we packed everything back up and trekked back up the hill to their house, although this time we didnt have their help in carrying our stuff so it took quite a bit longer to make it back.
We sat and talked to them for a while, wondering what we should do now. We eventually came to the decision to drive back through the hills and take a boat to Isla Grande. By the time we did all this, it was late afternoon. We found a place on the island to camp, set up our tents, and sat and watched the stormy windy sea until it got dark. We grabbed our food, a big bottle of rum, and sat at a table to eat dinner.
Apparently there was a surf competition going on that weekend on the island, so as we were eating, a big group of people came in, set up a tent and started giving out free stuff, all sponsored by a local sandal company, 2SURF. One of the surfers that is sponsored by the company, Pucha Garcia, was there signing autographs and taking pictures with people. So of course we took our free hats, sandals, water bottles, and calendars and got pictures with her. None of us had any idea who she was but everyone else seemed to be excited. It fun to meet local celebrities.
After we finished the handle of rum, we were in the mood for dancing. So we went to the 'bar' (a small hut that served drinks and played loud music) and continued drinking, dancing, swimming in the water, and talking to locals. A good time had by all. We told people we were from Europe and didnt speak English so that we could practice our spanish with them. Once anyone hears you speak english they want to only speak it so they can practice. We were not having any of that. We partied and danced all night until eventually we made it back to our tents and fell asleep.
The next morning a large group of our friends made the journey from Panama City to come meet us on the island to spend the day. So we had a nice day on the beach with everyone before heading back to the city late that afternoon.
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