This is one of several beaches spread across about 10 miles of coast. It´s extremely beautiful, with black sand that glitters like a night sky, and pretty clear water. The surf, however, was poobum whilst I was there, so I only stayed one night. Being little more than an hour from Panama City, it was empty whilst I was there (during the week) but at the weekends gets packed like Linford Christie´s pants, with both Panamanians and foreign tourists rocking up the over-priced resort (the cheapest place was $25 - like 3 times the norm - and only by virtue of having a tent did I enjoy a $5 pitch).
I decided to go to Playa Venao instead, but things are never so easy... a 5 hour wait at various places in and around San Carlos (the nearest town) and I eventually found myself on a bus to Chitré, where I was forced to stay the night through lack of buses and light. That evening I made friends with Nikli, who was learning English - so I offered my services. We talked mostly in Spanish though, about Ouija boards (popular, but highly frowned upon in a 90% Catholic country), "Satanic Rock" (Death Metal), religion, and how the prices of things compare in our countries: #25,000, for what I thought might be the cheapest house available in Britain, was shockingly expoensive to her, as one might expect.
