Comments...

comment by bill, 2009-09-08 21:24:03

flat
just went and the wave were flat

comment by Rick Kane , 2008-11-03 00:00:42

Bad Karma
Bad karma is for the person that bad mouths the person who helped them get there truck un-stuck out of the mud!!
I am a gringo that has lived in Cambutal for 6 years full time and It was not I who helped the dumb ass that got his truck stuck in the mud.
For the record I pull tourist out of the mud at least 6+ times a year and never charge anything but never have received anything for helping out neither!
Every year retarded tourist show up and act like they own the place and drive like idiots. The people who live here don't get stuck because we know better!
If you weren't so racist against expat gringos you would have stopped and asked them if you could drive any further before you got your truck stuck!
Than you would also have a better understanding that gringos bought all the land around the surf brakes years ago and they are the reason that there was no one around during all your solo surf sessions that you had to tell the world about!
Bad karma goes out to the dump ass that has to go home and tell the entire internet where he just went and how it went!
If any one is going to get snaked from the karma card it most likely will be you!
After all .....you said yourself, that you came out and had the surf all to yourself and had a great time?
So why are you spilling the beans and talking shit about someone who helped you out!
As for my neighbor who tried to charge you for pulling your truck out ?
Well??????
As far as I know everywhere in the world charges to get someone out of a serious bind.
Would you tell the AAA guy that comes to jump your car that he should get beat for sending you the bill?

You do not decide who gets snaked here!

comment by Anonymous, 2008-09-20 07:51:55

fun waves
just got back from here. we scored really fun waves and there was noone out at ANY of the breaks near by. got stuck w/ the 4x4 and some shitty 'local' american burn out dude tried to get us to pay him to help us out. bad karma. when you go, snake the 'local' americans... It's a haul to get there but seemed worth it to us.

comment by Anonymous, 2008-07-24 05:05:32

and shut the hell op
I agree! go to santa Cat. when you find somewhere else that is sweet and fun. Tell your mothers but not the web. And for pete sake don't give some local kid a board!

comment by Anonymous, 2008-01-06 20:23:18

Good but not great
Just got back from a new years trip from Pedasi all the way to slightly past cambutal so I got to experience a lot of the coastline in the region. I loved how remote this area is which made it a novelty but it works both ways - there's not a single place to stay in the area and restaurants are also not nearby. People are freindly here but you can't even find bare essentials. It took us 2.5 hours to get here from Pedasi due to the terrible roads even though people say it's just 1.5 hours away. They are repairing them now though so it'll likely get better. Regarding the wave itself, my impression of cambutal after surfing it and talking with a lot of locals who hit it year round -it is good wave but not great. It's got a little more power than Playa Venao but no where near as consistent or as long of lines and with fewer peaks. Venao is more crowded but the peaks move around a lot due to the tides and the swell window is wide open so you can spread down the beach. Maybe you want to check out Cambutal just to see it but we had more fun hitting the dozen or so spots near Venao which didn't have a single person suring them(Madronas, Isla Cana, Distilladrios etc.) and enjoying more of the towns / culture nearby. A lot of the other surfers we met just recommended we go to Santa Catalina. Yes, everyone goes here but it's still not that crowded and it's just always firing. Plus we hear the town there is incredible. Cambutal is also located smack between two very large mountain peaks so when the wind is offshore it gets channeled right into the peak with ridiculous force. Great if the swell is really pumping but bad if you've only got head high waves b/c it will flatten out for extended periods. It would be head high (on 5ft at 15 seconds) for ten minutes then flatten out to waist for another twenty which got real frustrating. I'm glad we saw it but probably will stick to Pedasi region next time exclusively.

comment by Anonymous, 2007-08-22 22:49:04

not worth the journey
this place if you can find it is fickle and unpredictable.But after the 6 hour drive the waves consist of various jagged rock reefs a beach break that closses out any bigger than 4 feet if the wind is onshore dont even bother, witch it comes onshore mid morning. No places to stay any more the surfcamp is now gone.camping is very dangerous due to monsoon like downpours witch flood the roards to get there. To get to the better break you have to cross a river witch anything other than 4 wheel drive cannot accomplish. but there are better and more accesible breaks all over panama both carribean and pacific coasts wich are more consistent and less dangerous.

comment by Just say know to spilling the beans!, 2007-04-10 20:08:53

I don't understand?
I don't understand why someone would write in to a website to let the world know how there surf trip was? Does anyone remember a surf trip pre-internet?????????
To all the kooks in the world that might have scored on there one week off.........shut the hell up!!!!!!
Feel free to keep your experience to yourself!!!!!!!!!!
Who knows maybe the spot wont be crowded when you go back!
Or you can keep writing in to impress your cyber friends and who knows maybe someone will read your message and end up bringing his rental car full of friends on your one week off to the uncrowded spot you wrote about!
Think twice about the internet revolution.
Go to a surf spot that you know nothing about....and keep it for yourself!
Be careful of the power that the internet has in the world of surfing!

comment by russ.beesley@btinternet.com, 2006-10-01 12:24:24

good to hear it finally
Its good to hear it finally, i live close to cambutal, and i love it, but it does not deliver the goods all the time. like anywhere it has classic days, but when travelling trying to discover a perfect uncrowded wave, it just doesnt live up to the hype. by all means it is a great place to visit, seriously off the beaten track, but expect it to be just ok, and you might be pleasantly surprised. the problem is at the moment people are comparing it to s.catalina and obviously it is nowhere near it, so entail bringing all the real estate assholes panic buying, then posting it on the internet to buyers that havent even been there!

comment by californian surfer, 2006-09-05 20:35:01

understanding cambutal
I just went on a trip to cambutal and realized why the spots are so uncrowded! 1st it is far from anything, water, food , and accomadations are nowhere in sight!
The place is beautiful but the facts are that the waves just arent that good very often!
If you have ever been to panama you will know that the tides are super extreme! They can very from 20ft!
Since the tides can sometimes be 13ft at the high tide it makes it so the surf only has a chance of being good a few times a month when the tides are big!
And even when it is good the points can be somewhat gutless!
A fun drop into a shoulderless wave!
If you have a month to hang out in cambutal you might score if you are there at the right time of year!
But most likely out of the month you might only score 7 or 8 days of fun surf!
As well as the place is out there with huge amounts of sand flies which makes camping hard times!!
And the beach brakes of playa venado are super week and I didnt understand all the hype around that spot !
so towards the end of my trip( huge mistake ) we went to santa catalina and scored huge! Ya there were traveling surfers on it, as well as some locals but the waves were insane! absolute perfection !!
A perfect right with a steep wall as well a some tubes!
As well as a cool little town !
And as long as you can surf you will get plenty of waves!
I recommend Catalina ......from experience go straight there and your panama surf trip will have a better chance of success!
peace californian surfer

comment by Ive got a life, now find your own kook!, 2006-08-22 22:33:18

get a life?
Get a Life - Yea your another jaded ex pat or some grumpy 9-5 cyber surfer. Lifes to short to be a fukin idiot! Just got back last week. Had a blast. Caught Catalina really big and crowded but fun just had to do the pecking order. Surfed Venao and area and caught it real fun (a couple feet over) and uncrowded waves. Did surf Cambutal 2 days and caught the right point about head high and empty. Did day trips again and didnt stop by the camp. Did some exploring around Cambutal and found a couple real fun points!! Woot!!