Munich To Panama

Panama’s signature, world class, surf break is Santa Catalina, but up until a year ago you couldn’t even buy a block of wax in town. There was no surf shop. Now, Catalina has a surf shop and it’s run by 2 German girls, Elli & Patricia.

Their story is so cool, I had to write about it. They are from the same town in Germany, Munich, but they met in Panama were they were learning to surf and living in paradise. When it came time to go home they didn’t want the dream to end, so they started a surf shop.

That was a big move for 2 girls who knew nothing about the surf industry, had no connections or know-how on running a shop, couldn’t speak Spanish and were only learning to surf, but they did it and did it in style. Now they have half a day to surf, everyday, only open when they like, are their own bosses and are living the surfers dream.

BocasTravel.com

Bocas del Toro is Panama's Caribbean surfing paradise. We thought we would maybe spend a week or two there but ended up staying over a month. On one island they spoke English but with a Jamacian accent from a particular neighbourhood (ghetto) in Kingston. It was easier to understand their Spanish.

We contributed a couple of articles to a local travel website called BocasTravel.com. To read them follow links below

http://bocastravel.com/bicycle-riding-in-bocas

http://bocastravel.com/visiting-up-in-the-hill-on-bastimentos-island

HOSTELTRAIL.COM

HostelTrail.com is an online travel guide used by independent travellers in Latin America. It covers accommodation and tour operators at the rice and beans end of the budget spectrum.

The website was set up to provide a platform for the promotion of small, independent, and locally operated businesses, in Central and South America. However, it’s not exclusive and will include any business offering services in the price range of its users i.e. backpacker.

There are plenty of hostel websites around, Hostel Trail differentiates itself by having all its content written by real travelers who have stayed in the hostel or taken the tour, that’s our job. I am now a contributing writer to the guide and Alicia works with me taking photos so beautiful you probably won’t believe they are the cheap places.

As we make our way north from Panama to Mexico we will be adding hostels and the odd tour company to Hosteltrail.com. Here are a few links to our work:

http://www.hosteltrail.com/hibiscusgarden/

http://www.hosteltrail.com/oasissurfcamp/

http://www.hosteltrail.com/boardershaven/