Las Lajas

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I left Boquete on Thursday morning and took a series of buses/taxi to a beach on the Pacific coast called Las Lajas. Arriving there thursday was perfect. There were absolutely no people! The beach stretches as far you can see on both side and is lined with palm trees. Out off the coast are islands and there is constant surf. I met up with a friend there that I had met in Santa Fe. There were simple hut on the beach for rent, but we decided to hang hammock and camp instead. I was a little hesitant of going there because this weekend is carnival (much like the days leading up to Mardi Gras) and I really wanted to stay away from the crowds. So it felt really good to arrive and be the only people on miles of beach.
Friday afternoon one family arrived and stayed in one of the huts. Stilll, not bad at all - lots of privacy. The days were hot in the sun but the afternoons were breezy and beautiful. Being on the Pacific, the sunsets were also amazing. On Saturday more and more people started to show up. Each hut had about 5 cars and 20 people. Our little campinh area also started to get crowded. We walked about 2km down the beachto get some dinner and returned to find mobs of people. At about 11pm a full sized school bus packed with people rolled in! 12 hours passed but the cars never stopped showing up - it was insane! Our little paradise had changed in the blink of an eye. I talked to the guy running the show and he said the more and more people would be coming all the way through Tuesday. At this point there were already a couple hundred cars.
So we packed it up and took a bus to the nearby city of David. It is a pretty big city and a good place to catch buses to various locations. Also I made it just in time for the Superbowl - SORRY Tom Brady!! I{ll be here until tomorrow and get a few things done (laundry, etc..) and then head to a place called Punta Burica. It is a pennisula on the Pacific side that is right on the Costa Rican border. Supposedly there is jungle and beached all in one place. Ive heard good things. Also there is supposed to be various specied of monkeys there. It is a little reserve. This should be ggod because I really haven{t seen much wildlife here. The Panameños kill all the animals that come close to civilatization. So they have earned to stay far away and mostly get around at night. Laso Punta Burica is also siad to have very few mosquitos and sand flies - which sounds pretty good because there were many at Las Lajas.

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