Westward Ho!

Today we got up early and headed back through Búcaro and then west through the mountains and to the costal beaches of Santa Maria and Playa Cambutal.

Surfers have started coming to the coast here for the constant waves and beautiful beaches.

Our first stop was the lesser known beach of Santa Maria (now that may not be the actual name but thats what the road sign said at the turn LOL)

We drove through all the Fincas (ranches) with the beautiful cows in the fields, saw many rancheros hearing on horseback etc. Very beautiful location. A little more lush vegetation as we headed in the direction of (we hoped) the water. We started seeing surfboards with signs on them for accommodations etc. We must have been in the right area.

Suddenly there we were...

Some people were surfing but the beach was basically empty.

Surfers make for cool pics don't they?

There were some accommodations along the beach and a restaurant/bar that we could see. Over all a gorgeous long beach, beautiful surf and what would it be without another entry under "Circle of Life"

FISH!

OOPS .. a bit too big maybe?

Let me get a grip on this ...

RUN ... he was being chased by his buddies!

He was a non breeding adult Laughing Gull ... he was not laughing while he was running away trying to save his dinner.

This was a local fisherman, he was loading his fish onto a truck with big cooler boxes on it and we saw him stopping along the way at restaurants and houses selling the fish.

Lovely beach but we have places to go still. We will be back!

We drove back to the main road and again headed west through cattle country to Playa Cambutal which we had heard lots about. David our new friend in the village had told us about an Italian he knew there who had a little restaurant. They made their own pasta etc and he said it was amazing. We had eaten lightly this morning so that we could enjoy the meal.

I stopped to take pictures of the cattle Egrets and saw the calves had these sticks tied to the side of their necks. I realized it is to prevent them from getting through the fences! Clever!

Breeding Adult Cattle Egret - very common to see with the cattle in the fields.
You can tell it is a breeding one by the tan feathers on the head.

There were quite a few workmen on the roads today, fixing fences and doing electrical work, so we slowly made our way and eventually arrived at Cambutal. I knew only that the restaurant was between the two larger hotels on the beach and to look out for the sigh that said Italian!

Before long we passed the first hotel and then sure enough there was the sign. We parked and as we got out of the car I saw a van pull up. The driver was a young lady and she opened the back of the van and she had FRESH PRODUCE!! We bought two fragrant pineapples, a giant papaya, tomatoes and a head of lettuce (SALAD TONIGHT) for lest than $5. I wish you could smell this pineapple....

Did I mention LETTUCE??? A rare commodity here.

We tucked all that into the cooler and headed for lunch. We were not dissappointed! The owner Franchesco (?) was so friendly and told use they had just made fresh stuffed pasta. Two orders of that please! But first a cold beer!

Our view while we dined! Magical!

They have three little chalets on the beach that you can rent and I would not hesitate to recommend this place. There are two slightly bigger hotels and so lots of dining options available if you for some crazy reason did not want to eat here every single day! Links at the bottom of the post for anyone interested.

Fresh Homemade Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli ... So yummy.

We shared this piece of heaven ... seriously one of the best ever!!

As we sat waiting for our lunch the circle of life took place yet again ... is it just me that notices carnage everywhere?

This female Great Tailed Grackle caught a lizard as big as herself! RIP little guy.

Then it was time for a walk on the beach. I grabbed my big hat and was sure in the knowledge that I had slathered myself in #50 sunscreen earlier that a walk would be fine!

as far as the eye could see ... solitude!

... both directions.
I think this would be an AWESOME sandcastle building beach as the sand is dark and heavy.

The back drop. Thats where we had lunch.

These are the two small cabins on the beach that you can rent. They also have a bigger looking one set back a little bit.

We walked for a while and then I noticed lots of BIG holes in the sand...everywhere...

I was not sticking my hand in to see what lived in there!!

I'll let you know if we find the inhabitants when we go back...because we will for sure go back here a few times while we are here in Panama! It's so beautiful!! Come now before it gets spoiled! The surfers are coming!!

We slowly packed up and headed home. Stopped to take a few picks along the way of the living fences to show you all the different stages of how they are grown. But I will save that for a seperate post another day when there is no excitement to share.

Did I mention this mornings circle of life moment? This is what I saw first thing this morning..,
Mamacita (aka Ginger) noshing down on a lizard. For sure I would not want to be a lizard in Panama. She kindly left me the head to dispose of! Lucky I love her just a little bit! :-) She has stolen a little bit of my heart for sure.

Oh yeah, breakfast!

One the way home Richard saw these little doves on the fence so I managed to capture a couple of pics to add to my growing collection.

I think it is a male Ruddy Ground Dove but I might eb wrong. I'll check with Marcy.

Beautiful scenery everywhere.

Here is the place we stopped for lunch. No affiliation what so ever just loved it.

HOTEL BOOM SHIVA Ask for Daniele (guy)

You can phone them on WhatsApp at +507-622-008-65
Everyone uses WhatsApp here by the way. Make sure to add the +
boomshivacambutal@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by. Let me know if you go!!

Sue and her sidekick