My Friend’s Ranch is Better Than Your Friend’s Ranch

When I was a kid, my father often spent weekends fishing and hunting at his friend Ernie Castro’s ranch. He took us with him a couple of times and those were my first camping experiences. I remember dad’s big yellow Chevy slowly creeping over the rocks and down the sandy road that hugged the shore and winded deep into the jungle from Tarague to Jinapsan.

I think it’s really neat that I grew up to make friends with a Castro of my own (shoutout to my girl Pia), whose family property is in the same area as dad’s friend. Now I’m the one driving over those rocks and through the jungle, sleeping on the beach and waking up to some of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. I totally get why my dad loved those weekends because I love them, too. Whenever I’m invited to Jinapsan I feel like I’ve won a prize.