Dear Graham,
We came to Pedasí to know the ocean in the same intimate way we once came to know the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I still remember the first time I hiked the Brainard Lake Trail—the scent of pine hanging in the air, the soft rasp of needles brushing against the soles of my rubber-soled boots. In a similar way, the first day we walked along Destiladeros Beach, I noticed the sharp, clean smell of saltwater and the gritty press of sand beneath my feet.
I’m learning the language of the tides. It feels essential here, almost like a quiet survival skill. At high tide, the shoreline narrows so much that you can become trapped against the rocky bluffs, with the only escape a scramble upward. It reminds me of what I once heard about the canyon road on the way home to Nederland, Colorado—how, if it ever flooded, you were supposed to abandon your car and climb the rock walls to safety. That always sounded nearly impossible to me. So, just as I tried to avoid floodwaters in Boulder Canyon, I now plan my beach walks around the rhythm of the tides.
The ocean breathes in and out roughly every six to seven hours, drawn by the steady pull of the moon’s gravity. Destiladeros Beach sits on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama, not far from the equator, where the tides can feel especially dramatic—wide, exposed stretches of sand at low tide, followed by the ocean’s steady, deliberate reclaiming of the shore. I’m still learning how this geography shapes the water’s movement, but I feel it more than I understand it.
I love standing where the cool, foaming waves swirl around my ankles, the sand shifting and slipping between my toes as if the earth itself were alive beneath me. I wander the shoreline, spotting shells and gathering them in my hands, each one a small, quiet treasure. And always, I find myself looking outward, where the sky meets the far edge of the ocean in a line so distant it feels like a promise.
There is just one thing missing from the beach: the Halloween Crabs that greeted us that first night. Graham, where are the Halloween Crabs? The mystery is to be continued.
Love,
CC
