Instructor Blog – Panama and Costa Rica Trip

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Hey All!

Sorry we have been absent from the blogosphere lately – it has been a busy year!

We are so pumped for the 2014 season, which marks the 5th year of Sacred Surf School’s operation!

Currently, Tommy and I (Zach) are down in Central America on an epic surf journey. We flew down to Panama City on May 17th. Tommy spent his high school years in Panama City so I was able to really experience the city like a local. We took the time in the city to eat great food and finalize (to the best of our ability) our travel to come. A few days later I took off for Playa Venao while Tommy stayed a few more nights in the city to catch up with some old high school friends. I have to say, I was a little anxious about traveling the Panamanian bus system alone as my spanish is worse than a newborns child’s. I had to take three buses that day but it turned out to be pretty simple. With the use of broken spanish hand signals and pointing i was able to make all my connections right on time. While the public transportation system in Panama is phenomenal, most of the buses look as follows, so it can be a bit hot and crowded to say the least:

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Once I arrived in Venao I was greeted by an evening surf session. This was my first time on my board in about two months – it felt amazing just to get wet again. My surfing was a little shaky at first but in no time I quickly regained my title as “top shredder” on the Sacred Surf team (sorry Greg and Brett). The surf was off and on for the next couple of days with windows of really fun sessions. I spent a good bit of time on my new fish shaped by local Cape Cod shaper Shawn Vecchione:

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Tommy arrived in Venao on the 23rd. He had some complications with his ear and had to see a doctor. By the time it was all fixed he had spent a little more time in the city than planned and needless to say was ready to get to the beach. By the time he had arrived I had already immersed myself in the culture of Playa Venao and Tommy fit right in. All of Venao was recently bought by a group of Israelis, so there were a lot of Israeli travelers in the area. It was really cool to see them all travel so far to score waves. We stayed at a beautiful (and cheap) hostal called La Choza only 200 meters or so from the beach. This allowed us to surf upwards of four times a day:

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We made all of our own food which consisted of primarily rice, beans, onions, garlic, eggs, and hot sauce. Two weeks in I must say we are getting a little tired of the same foods. Tonight we are in search for some fresh fish to mix up our diet:

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Best of all in Venao, we met some awesome locals and world travelers who all shared the common love of surfing:

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We scored really good waves for the remainder of our time in Venao and on Monday the 26th we began our journey north. The trip to Santa Catalina was a long one. We started our trip at 7:15 AM – eight hours and five buses later arrived in the sleepy fishing village at 3:30 PM. We found our new sleeping quarters, Cabanñas Sherly, thanks to the recommendation of former Sacred Surf instructor Brett. We have our own room with a kitchen and AC for super cheap. It is the deal of the century!!

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We quickly unpacked our boards and ran down to the infamous right point break where we scored perfect 4-6 ft waves with only a few other people out. It was a perfect introduction to our new location!

We plan on staying in Catalina for a few more days then head to the mountains in search of water falls, coffee farms, and hot springs! We will be sure to keep you updated on the remainder of our journey. I for one am so excited to get back on Cape. I cannot wait for summer 2014. Its going to be one for the record books!

Much Love,

Sacred Surf School