The Beach Routine
Day 99
When Jordana and I found out her parents were going to meet us we figured we had to reserve some places and do some more planning than usual. Finishing the 2 weeks together on a beach within 2 hours of Panama City seemed ideal. We found a place to stay named Las Sirenas on the net, located on the south coast in a small town named Santa Clara. When we arrived we drove down a steep hill from the reception right to the beach. Our room was located directly on the sand, no more than 15 meters from the water at high tide. Actually our room was more like a beach house with a separate bedroom, full kitchen and two single beds for Jordana and I in the living area. From the living area we walked out a sliding door to a beautiful patio with furniture that was just steps from the sand. Not sure about the others but I could spend a month here.
The beach at Santa Clara contained only our place and one other hotel. Other than that it was lined by giant mansions of the rich, once even Manuel Noriega had a home here. The beach was wide, white and deserted. We developed a nice routine at Santa Clara. Cook breakfast in the morning, lather the sun block on then hit the beach. Norm and I would seek some shade on the patio around 11am and usually the first cerveza Balboa was cracked open by noon. Vikki and Jordana would join us by 12:30 and we’d have some lunch. Then back to the beach, Norm off for an afternoon air conditioned nap.
Around 6:30pm we would head out for dinner. Dinner was the only issue with Santa Clara, there was one restaurant on the beach and it wasn’t very good. Another American owned restaurant we tried one night was OK but not veggie friendly. Our last night we drove to the next beach, Farallon. It was the beach where the massive, city-like Decameron resort was located. This place was HUGE. Over a thousand rooms, casino, golf course, hard rock cafe, and even their own mini buses to transport people around the sprawling resort. For myself it looked like hell. I think we even have even begun to convert Vikki, who made the comment that she wouldn’t rush back to a large resort again. I think this trip showed her it really isn’t that tough to travel independently and you get much more variety. Besides the massive resort the only other thing in Farallon is a swiss owned/run restaurant. He says he caters to people who get sick of the resort food. The meal was a bit pricey and small portioned but considering his market not bad priced. Importantly it was good food.
After dinners our nights were spent drinking beer and wine on the patio, trying to keep cool with the overhead fan and numerous games of shithead. The card games usual ended when Norm got frustrated of being shithead. It was a great time and for myself the most enjoyable time with Norm and Vikki. So there you have it, like I said its tough to write about beaches and make it interesting. Really we had the exact routine I just described everyday at Santa Clara. After over 3 months of travel it was a routine I was getting very comfortable with. Not too comfortable though as in the morning we were off back to Panama City. Only 2 days till Norm and Vikki fly back home. As for Jordana and I, we are off to South America next. I have been trying to organize via emails, a sail boat from Panama to Colombia but not having much luck as the seas are very rough at this time of year. We hoped to get this straightened out in Panama City.
Tags: Panama
Michael Coroneos
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