Panama: Day 5

Panama: Day 5

Grouper Day

We started off our morning with a long walk around the island.  

This is the old ferry that ferried from Panama City to Contadora.   A huge storm hit and beached it.  And in true form, they just left it there.

Watching the sailboats.  It was decided we needed to try that next time we come. 

Today me and Shalane stayed on the Island while the boys went to their island to fish.  I had a bad experience the day before when I thought Kevin had gotten hurt (eaten by a shark) when they had not come in on time and the captain couldn't find them in the rough waves.  My mind always goes to the worst.  I was supposed to babysit a big red snapper that Kevin had brought in earlier into one of the rock pools, but I was so worried I had let it get washed out to sea...woops.  I told Kevin that is what he gets for not coming in on time. 

So me and Shalane found the Executive Beach to hang out at.  It had a bathroom and a shower we later found out! And Europeans.  I really don't think too many Americans come to Contadora, we were the only Americans there at that time (but again, theres not many tourists there to begin with).

The night before the boys and Éric were saying how they wish they had caught more grouper on the trip.  The very next day they caught a huge grouper and two smaller ones!

Giant Grouper.  It had to have been 60-70 lbs.

Kevin's biggest catch of the trip.  This big guy made us $40.

Kevin's grouper!! He was so excited about it.  This guy made us $20.

Éric had a minor mishap when the large grouper he had speared had a hook in its mouth.  When he was trying to wrestle and kill it, the hook on the fish lodged into Éric's chin.  He had to rip it out himself.  When they got back to the island, luckily the Survivor doctor was right there and sewed him right up on the balcony of his hotel.  With his shirt off.  Oh island life.  So that is why he looks so serious in this picture.  He probably thought he was pretty bad a$# with that grouper, but it mainly hurt him to smile.

Our captain cutting up the large grouper for the man who had bought it for $60.  We noticed that he left some pretty big filet's on the fish for himself after he gave the cut filets to the man.  That is the kind of guy he was. 

Tom Sawyer carrying our dinner fish home.

The island is so small that everything is centered around the airstrip.  So if we got lucky and were still at the beach around 4-6 pm when all the Survivor crew left, we got buzzed by all the planes.  This doesn't show how close these planes were to us.  It was the coolest feeling watching and hearing them go right over us.

Same place, same people, same food.  Oh I miss those dinners.
And again, poor Éric can't smile. He kept telling us that night to stop making him laugh.

That night we went to the roof of our B&B and watched the most beautiful sunset.  It was the perfect ending to our last day on the island.