Hotel with a Surf View!!

July 24, 2011
Yet another grande day on Isla Grande, Republic of Panama. We had a slow start to the morning, and sauntered into town along the rock and monkey grass lined path which borders the shoreline on the way into “town” Our breakfast spot was at a restaurant which served tipico Panamanian breakfast, under the open air dining area which is at most of the area’s dining establishments. Had some great service, and their coffee decanter was endless !!
Onto the non-surf trip which has become one. We scored yet another day of fun surf, despite the large crowds from the Panamanian weekend beachgoers. Since the surf had backed off a bit, I finally acquiesced to the persistence of Ryan and then Rebecca to let him surf. He was able to make the rock jump into the line up and do two immediate duck dives to get past the rocks. All the while, my heart raced, nervous for his paddle out past the big rocks inside the wave sets. He made it, and got a couple of good rides out amongst the crowded line up. I got speared by another surfer in the neck as he kicked out of a wave, had another near miss with two surfers which did hit each other, ran aground on the coral (again) searching for Ryan creating another messy ding grouping, and was overcome by sea lice. Man, those things could single me out in the Artctic Ocean with a group of 50 other surfers. I am thankful for Benadryl Gel and tea tree ointment to soothe the maddening itchy sting of those little buggers. Ryan, Zac, and especially Avery all had breakthrough days in some great Central American surf. Despite all my little surf calamaties, it was an awesome day to be surfing, out with both of my sons, who have risen to their role as 3rd generation surfers of Panama.
Our afternoon was chill, and I managed a little siesta in the hammock on the balcony. The kids have discovered the pool table in the “hobina”, and are making full use of it when they are not surfing, swimming in the salt water pool or chillin’ like they can only do in Panama.
In the afternoon, we had a very sweat laden hike up, up, and up the crest of the island to the ridge at the top, and back down again. Back down again, we stopped at our favorite bodega for grande agua botelas, and candy bar desserts for after dinner.
To arrive at our dinner establishment, we ventured out on a wooden dock to the Congo Bar and Restaurant which lies on a wooden platform over the water. A large bohio houses the restaurant and bar area. It also seemed to serve as a panga launch, as a couple pangas were tied up there, and some had taken passengers from our dining area over to mainland Panama. This may have been our most enjoyable dinner since arriving, since despite our 12 travelers, we were served in a timely manner with a smile. Two dining descriptions, smile, and timely which are not the most common, used together to describe a dining experience.
Once we had completed another fine meal of Panamanian fare, we broke out the flashlights for the hike around the shoreline to the Sister Moon Hotel to complete another grande day on Isla Grande.