etnies

The etnies surf team's trip to Costa Rica was a success, even with our mis-communication problems. Our Costa Rican distributor, Ernesto, put on a great event called the etnies OP Latin Pro at Isla Uvita (a small island off the Carribean town of Limon). There was a perfect little left that peeled around the island and the surf was head-high for the whole event.

I cannot remember the name of the guy that won, but he was not an etnies rider. The event drew contestants from all over Central and South America--I saw people from Panama, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Peru, Venezuela and probably a couple others.

From Costa Rica, we went to Panama to do a signing at the opening of the third shop owned by the Panamanian champion Gary Saavedra. The event went crazy, with everyone lining-up for autographs and practically brawling when we threw stickers. Gary, the shop owner, was super-stoked and wants to do more of this type of stuff in the future.

For the next two days, we surfed with Gary at a really cool island called Isla Grande. He and all of his friends took super good care of us and I definitely want to go back.

--Brandon