Beach volleyball in Gorgona!

Every Sunday, and sometimes at random points during the week, we get together with a few of our athletic and/or margarita-minded Inside Panama friends, as well as any passersby who want to get in on the action, and play volleyball.

The more the merrier, of course -- but we do love three-on-three.

There's a net right outside the Bahia in Gorgona, and we show up at about 8:30 in the morning to beat the heat of the day. Denise brings the balls (we've put holes in two of them so far -- darn spiny yucca plants), Cat brings a jug of margaritas, and we go at it for about two hours.

There are definitely varying levels of ability on the court, but we still keep score and have a great time.

I fell in love with volleyball when I was 13 years old, but it's been several years since I last played. I've been missing it, and am pleasantly surprised at how quickly the old court instincts kick in. I always preferred hard-court games to beach volleyball, because on the court you can actually jump and move so much more quickly, but I'm getting used to the sand and enjoying it all the same.

Speaking of the sand, it gets really hot! The first time we played, we did it barefoot and were all sorry the next day (and half-way through our game). After that, most people have had foot coverings: I wear tennis shoes, Brent wears the Vibram toe shoes, and most of the others wear handy-dandy sand socks that they ordered online.