Santa Catalina and Playa Venao

On March 30, we took a cab from Santiago to Santa Catalina. We stayed at Oasis Surf Camp, where Ian stayed last year. We had to drive across a river, which is no problem at low tide, but the river gets about chest deep at high tide. Luckily we got there at low tide, but the cab got stuck in the sand and we had to get some people to come help push. We camped on the beach, although in a fenced in area. There were other cabins there and a pretty good restaurant. The town itself was about a 1.5 km walk from where we were staying. We only made the trip once, after that we were too lazy and just layed in our hammocks reading when we were not out surfing. The waves were only OK, but I had fun surfing the little waves.

We met some nice Canadians, David, Alan and Angelica, who live in Panama. We had quite a few drinks with them one night, partying and having a good time sitting on the sand beside their tent. At one point I felt something crawling on my shoulder and without thinking I just threw it off me, kinda a grad and swipe kinda motion. Well, when it hit the sand we realized that it was a HUGE SCORPION and it was headed strait for Ians shorts. I couldnt believe that that thing was crawling on me. Eeeesh! Ian of course did his creepy crawly whisperer thing and had the scorpion hanging out in his hands in no time. I couldnt find the camera in time but luckily our new friend, David, got a quick video with his blackberry. I still cant believe how big that thing was. Another night we found a little scorpion climbing on the outside of our tent. Man, scorpion city.

Since the waves were pretty small and blown out, and Santa Catalina was getting pretty crowded with the Semana Santa vacationers (Easter Holidays) we decided to leave after 3 nights and head for Playa Venao. What a trip that was! We had to walk the 1.5km into town, then take 5 different buses just to get to the nearest town to Playa Venao which was still a 30-40min drive. But because it was a holiday, the regular shuttle that takes people to the beach was not running! So there was a couple of us with surf boards and bags standing on the side of the road, trying to either flag down a taxi or hitchike. Thats when we found out that there was also a huge surf competition going on at Playa Venao that weekend and the place was going to be packed. I few times we were wondering what we got ourselves into. We were finally able to flag down a taxi and share it with a guy from Argentina coming to visit his friend who works at a restaurant on the beach. The party was in full swing when we got there. All the hotels were full Friday and Saturday night (we got there Friday) so we had to camp. At least camping was free, but it was in a dirt parkinglot and everyone was saying to watch your stuff cause things get stolen. Great. So I decided that I wasnt going to surf until we got a room to keep our passports etc safe and just carried them around with me wherever I went. Ian would come in from surfing and take a shift watching the stuff so I could go for a swim. There were so many people in the water and on the beach that I didnt want to surf anyways. The music played at a temple throbbing pitch right from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. It didnt stop at all. The first night we just got drunk and passed out, so we were able to sleep that way. Second night was a little less comfortable. My air mattress had a hole and deflated and Ian was sleeping on the board bag. The restaurant washrooms were so disgusting from 3 days of partying I just peed in the ocean.

Finally, Sunday we were able to get a room and the expensive hotel on the beach. It was $100 a night but well worth every penny. We badgered the receptionist to let us in the room early so we could hide from all the party people still hanging around. We had a nice relaxing time on the soft bed, taking long hot water showers and watching TV in the comfort of air conditioning. I finally had a good long surf Sunday evening and stayed out longer than Ian. The waves were pretty nice, not too big for the most part but a head high set or more would roll in every so often.

We had chatted up one of the waitresses, Claudia, at the restaurant by our hotel and we ended up selling my board to her and her boyfriend, Ernest. We hung out with them that evening and chatted about our adventures. They are German Swiss and they imported their crazy land rover to Central America and have been travelling around for the last 5 months. They were heading to Panama city before heading into Columbia to explore South America. I got a littel less for my board than I hoped, but it was still better than nothing and Im glad it was to people who are still going on an adventure. So that was then end of my surf trip. Ian surfed the next day but then sold his board for $20 for some guy who really just wanted the fins. Not a bad price seeing as Ian wanted to give it away.

So now our surf trip is officially over. We are pretty bummed about it but travelling without surfboards was such a relief. We left Playa Venao on Tuesday, April 6 and took a taxi and 2 buses to El Valle. The first bus ride was nice and comfy on a gray hound, but the second half reminded us of the trip to El Estor, in Guatemala. There were so many people crammed in a little microbus. Ian and I had our bags on out knees and some people were standing crouched over other people. Luckily more people were getting off than on, so eventually it was tolerable.

El Valle is a beautiful little town in the mountains, about 3000 feet above sea level. It is actually nestled in a crater of an extinct Volcano that blew its top off thousands of years ago. It is a little cooler here but still warm. Last night there was a crazy wind that rattled the doors and windows of our room, but all is sunny and warm this morning. There are lots of things to do here, waterfalls, orchid gardens, snake house, zoo, petroglyphs and tons of hiking trails. I dont think we will run out of things to in the 5 days that we are here.
I think lunch is the first thing on the agenda though.