Bieber Fever in Punta Chame
I was taking in a Pacific coast sunset from the quite shores of Malibu when the chaos began. It was Friday evening, so I did my best to ignore my phone, at the very least for 10 minutes of quite. Little did I know, Justin Bieber was back in town, and my weekend was about to get a whole lot busier.
When I checked back in to reality, I was overwhelmed with urgent emails and missed calls. I wondered, what could possibly be happening in Coronado that was so pressing? Did something happen to Jeff the monkey? Unable to make sense of the mass of emails titled “Justin Bieber” in my inbox, I called Jamuna (my boss) to fill me in.
We showed up around 10:00 p.m., the resort was dead. After a couple of drinks and some Ping-Pong we took a walk over to the skate park where Justin, Usher and Batman were out for a late night skate session. Nitro’s new skate park looked awesome, everyone seemed to be having a good time trying it out. The sound of trucks and wheels hitting the ramps would soon be seem like a tranquil one.
Sunday Nitro had done a complete 360. Hundreds of pitchy cries from teary-eyed Beliebers, echoed throughout the resort. Each little hand grasped an iPhone or camera and parents stood idle with backups. While the fever was considerably controlled (Beliebers were held back by Nitro staff), nobody really seemed in good spirits. Girls were crying, Bieber was hiding, and I was suppose to get an “inside scoop.” Bombarding the already flustered looking Beiber crew with questions was the last thing I wanted to do.
New to the whole celebrity gossip thing, I wasn’t even really sure what kind of “news” I was looking for. Thanks to my Facebook feed, I knew the Biebs was in some hot water for a recent DUI in Miami, but so what? No, I don’t support drunk driving - but the kid blew under the legal limit. And no, I don’t support the misuse of prescription drugs -but what about the hundreds of hopped up soccer moms? Not to mention an equal number of mommies and daddies sneaking in they’re after work joint. So why, I asked myself, was everyone so concerned with Justin Bieber?
The answer - Because he’s famous, and fame, can has disadvantages.
As Justin, two giant (but friendly) bodyguards, friend Kevin, model/DUI buddy Chantel Jefferies and a growing trail of Beliebers wandered, I began to imagine my life without those 10-minute of sunset solitude.
While Justin and his crew battled to get out for a boat ride, Usher enjoyed a private kiteboard lesson, undisturbed.The strong winds made for great kiteboarding, but the Panga ride was a disaster. With strong winds the water was choppy and the boat was forced to turn back. The Bieber crew struggled to get Justin back off the boat and to his hotel room.
Throughout the huff one of Justin’s bodyguards dropped his iPhone, I happened to notice, and I picked it up. I returned it, not expecting a reward. Thankful, he apologized that he could not offer me a photo with Justin. I smiled and shook my head, implying that wasn’t why I returned it. He went on to explain Justin’s unhappiness with all the people. I told him I knew a great place with quiet shores and beautiful sunsets but could not promise it would stay that way if Justin wanted to go.
The sun started to set, and the excitement at Nitro quickly culminated with Justin and his entourage piling into a row of black escalades. The SUVs filed out of the resort and I happily retired as a gossip reporter.
