Nicaraguan friend´s

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This morning I found the second scorpion in as many weeks here in Nicaragua. The first one we found our first night down at Playa Gigante. Heading in to take a shower and rinse the road grime off myself I nearly stepped on our first friend. I asked Hedda if she wanted a look at the little guy. She did and then I quickly smacked him out with a sandal. This second one must have stowed away in my boardbag or backpack to Granada. I pulled on my shorts this morning and felt something scratching my back. I instinctually swiped him off and then Hedda yelled out ¨scorpion¨. He must have been slowed down from the rooms A/C which saved my ass from getting stung!

Colorado's - Nicaragua

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Lazy lavender clouds drifting across the evening sky. Looking as though they were painted across the horizon.The daily offshore winds settling down with the sunset. Walking out to Colorado´s through the forest trying not to step on the flourescent orange colored crab legs that scurry across the undergrowth at my every step. Pigs scavenger for scaps trying not to trip on the triangular stick harnesses they are hooked up with for misbehaving. The beachbreak here is a classic set up. Offshore all day everyday due to the location of a massive lake just inland, South facing so it picks up any swell going in the Pacific, and it even has a little creek that nicely replenishes the sandbanks, keeping the assorted peaks in good form.

Playa Bluff - Bocas Del Toro - Panama

picnikfile_t1h9a3, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We´ve started to move faster than we normally do since we only have 1 month to get to El Salvador and fly to Europe. Leaving Santa Catalina we arrived in Santiago and spent a couple of hours waiting for the Tica bus which would take us directly to San Jose, Costa Rica. Unfortunately, when it pulled up, we found out it was fully booked. Change of plans.... We decided on the spur of the moment to head to Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast of Panama. I´d been wanting to check it out and since the swell was looking meager to the west, we hopped on the next bus to David.

What a beautiful place Bocas is. Tropical islets and virgin jungle ringed with small communities beginning to make a living from tourists. While walking into town looking for a hotel, we ran into some friends we´d met in Santa Catalina. The next morning we hired a boat to take Nathan and I surfing while Trish and Hedda snorkelled. Small waves, but uncrowded and beautiful crystal clear Caribbean waters made up for the lack of swell. A couple days later Hedda and I caught a boat with Roberto to Playa Bluff. We spent a lazy day sharing a mile long stretch of golden sand with just the crabs. Punchy chest high barrels kept me in the water for a few hours. Hedda was working on her bodysurfing in some pretty hollow waves. The waves break in knee deep water here so be careful...

Santa Catalina - Panama

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Scored some good surf here. We stayed 8 nights right in front of the reef at Punta Brava. Overhead waves everyday. Tides can be issue here since the range is something like 15-20 feet. If you surf through till low you're guaranteed a long, slow walk back over the reef. Depending where you come in it can be as long as 300 yards and the reef aint soft! The wave were good but I wish I could've seen it double overhead. It must be incredible at that size. There are other waves nearby but I never felt the need to take a long walk since it was pretty damn good straight out front everyday. A bit crowded on the weekend but most people were watching. There is also a nice beachbreak around the corner where Hedda has been catching a few waves herself!

Coiba Island - Panama

, originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

We hired a boat for the day and motored out to Isla Coiba, about 1 1/2 hours from Santa Catalina. It's a totally different world out there compared to the mainland. Santa Catalina has some river runoff into the sea so the water has a green hue to it. Out at Coiba it is absolutely crystal clear. We free dove some reefs and had about 50-60 feet of visibility. White tip sharks, Barracuda's, Turtles, various coral formations and loads of fish. Granita del Oro is a tiny islet, one of many that surround Coiba. We had it completely to ourselves and didn't see another boat all day. Until recently, Coiba housed over 1,000 prisoners in various camps scattered around the island. This helped to preserve the island and reefs since no one really wanted to get too close to the prison. Today it is a protected national park and UNESCO world heritage site.