im going to panama with a buddie on April. the whole month. Ive Heard its a Little bit early on the season for panama? need advice on where to go, im in between bocas, morro negrito and santa catalina.. where would you go? any other info gladly taken.. thanks
April is NOT the swell season for Bocas. If you go to Panama in April, you will probably be better off on the Pacific Side. MIS: why do you recommend against Morro Negrito? I went about 5 years ago and found the waves and the camp to be pretty decent.
April is cusp of Bocas season, but I went to morro negrito 10 years a go and found the food, service, and waves wanting food= terrible UNLESS they caught a fish that day. I am sure I ate goat at one meal. waves= burgers, nestles isnt even a wave, pland and lefovers can deliver, however they are all boat waves and the drunk losers they have ferrying people out dont do afternoon runs, there is an inside wave (by the camp) 'emilys' that is a good log wave, but I didnt bring my log and he (steve) wanted an extra 25$ for me to use one (beat up BIC). I surf 6+ hours a day on surf trips and one 3 hour boat trip in the morning didnt do it for me. the 'sandbar' is a complete piece of sh!t wave and the 'the point' didnt fire while I was there it was ok, but there are WAAAAY better spots in panama. Maybe I expect too much, but I have been to latin america a half dozen times and MN was the worst spot I went to. just google Morro negrito sucks and see what you find
1st- pay for dune's trip, heard he is a great tour guide... I think he has had experience with tours in Belmar, NJ. 2nd- head straight to santa catalina... a great break in a great little town... but its totally a little local town... 3rd- you'll get swell, even if your not right in the middle of rainy season. 4th- watch what you eat there... I got seriously sick there one time. I think I had a parasite or something- lost tons of weight and could not really digest food properly for like 3 months (read- diarrhea, 'the runs' ) 5th- waves are not as good as they are in Belmar, NJ... I would just book a trip there instead
April is the end of the season in bocas, you may score a few dasy at the begininig of your trip there, and its the begining of the season on the pacific side. If i were you just watch the swell forecast, if you are there for a month I'd start on the carribean side and then go pacific. I LOVE BDT!! spent two months there jan/feb 2012, 47 days of head to overhead surf, 13 days to party hardy...totatally awesome town, food, people, I felt right at home on my first full day there. Cant wait to go back, but unfortunately i totaled my car in sept and need a new one so im saving for now. maybe ill find a way to get away this winter
thanks everyone.. i think im heading straight to santa catalina. Heard teres only 1 break there, santa catalina beach.. is this true? any nearby breaks with boat or walking Access?
avoid the beef in panama, i had the same stomach issues, bring acidopholous to ease the transition to real organic food, takes a little while but i know once my stomach adjusted to the food , i had more energy and felt better every day than when im back here in ny, all of the food here is treated with hormones that keep you down..
haha this reminds me while we were there we did start out on an afternoon boat ride one afternoon to go look for waves at p-land. On our way out, we discovered the camp's second boat (the one they use for fishing parties) sunk in the ocean where they had it tied up about 200 yards offshore, and nobody had remembered to run the bilge pump for a few days. Instead of getting an afternoon session that day, all six of us surfers and two or three guides spend a couple hours hitching ropes to the sunken boat and pulling it up onto the beach inside the cove moving the boat about five feet inshore one swell at a time. The guides were making fun of Steve's ****ty fishing boat the entire time.
I would definitely check out Playa Venoa. It's a bit off the beaten path, near Pedasi, but the best, most consistent beach/sandbar break I have surfed.
jv is on point and I think there are other waves within an hour of santa catalina. use the googles or stormrider guide
Santa Catalina is a reef break- a right point and a good paddle out. You'll love it. There are other breaks around and you can always ask someone to tak you to other breaks by boat... Just be careful that they are trust worthy and don't leave you... Or you can go fishing if it's flat...
Santa Catalina can get very heavy avoid at low tide. There is another break you drive to about 10. Min reall chill spot with hammocks beSch break. Also you can ak locals to boat you to a remote famous location u surf yourself. Place is wild. Funking panama man.
When you go head in to the jungle. Turn left at the mango tree and ask for Juan Pablo. He'll give you a bunch of condoms stuffed with "stuff." Don't ask what it is or he'll skin you. When you get home poop and then call me. I'll be right over... Have fun!
