I need to stop visiting surf towns since I dont surf. They rarely equate to nice beaches and I was a bit disappointed to find a black sand beach at San Carlos. Id ventured onto the beach fairly far before I realized the sand was burning my feet. I did a sprint back to the dirt road, looking around afterwards to see if anyone was watching this ridiculous scene.
The next morning I went for a walk on Playa Enseada, a fairly nice adjacent beach, and then the owner of Sweet Dreams hotel drove me to Santa Clara, about 25 minutes south on the Interamericana.
Its really difficult to tell how nice a beach is by browsing online photos. Practically any beach can look like paradise with the right framing and lighting. But I really lucked out with Santa Clara, along the Gulf of Panam. Its a beautiful stretch of soft, tan sand and heavy turquoise waters that stretch for miles and are relatively empty on weekdays. I also lucked out with T.T. Bed and Breakfast, which is reasonably priced and run by a friendly French couple. I feel a little bad about staying
with expats rather than locals but its hard to pass up a beachfront house with crepes and chocolate for breakfast and a stocked wine fridge. I ate a $15 whole sea bass for dinner both nights at the otherwise empty Delicias del Mar, but other restaurants were closed.
I went for a long walk northward along the beach my second day there, making it all the way to Las Uvas and almost all the way back to San Carlos, at least 8 miles each way. The shoreline is dotted with antiquated houses of millionaires, over half of which are dilapidated eyesores, not to speak of the monstrosity (see photo) that is a testament to zoning laws.
Some stretches are just virgin beach for miles. The sand was soft enough to walk barefoot along the water for most of the way but I put my sandals on for the rockier section near Las Uvas. I had to cross a couple of rivers but at low tide it was easy. In 6 hours I only passed a few people - some fishermen, and locals from Penonome and Anton wading in the shallow waters. Most areas looked fine for swimming.
I cant figure out how to embed a video link using my phone, but here is a 180 degree view of my lunch spot:
My partner Peggy arrived in Panama City a week or so later at around 1:30 PM, so the farthest west we travel that day was back to the same coast. This time we booked a place in Farallon, but only because T.T. Bed and Breakfast was full.
