Exploring Pacific
PANAMA
Story by Sandra Olson Photos by Gabeto Fernandez
Some places in the world are simply magical... Pacific Panama is just that. Pure magic.
Pacific Panama’s landscape is lush, verdant, and mountainous, covered in thick jungle foliage complemented by a myriad of palm tree species swaying high above the jungle peaks. There are black sand beaches that offer you sand dollars the size of your hand, vibrant orange and purple crabs that roam the beaches and roads- pretty much everywhere (careful, they love to hitch a ride home in your suitcase!) and picturesque islands that bask in the beautiful, deep blue ocean. The distant islands are a constant reminder that you’re at land’s edge, engulfed in a sensory overload of untouched serene nature, and a calmness and tranquillity that is felt to your very core. Most surfers, if they’ve been to Panama, have been to Bocas del Toro, which is located on the Caribbean side. While it boasts its own charm for sure, there’s a stillness and remoteness, a spirit of adventure and barely discovered waves that the rugged pacific shores offer. It beckons
Sandra @ Leftovers
2 | womenssurfstyle.com | wSSm
you to go where most will never dare. With limited vacation time, it’s easy to hit the hotspots that are easily found on the internet, saving exploration “for another day”. For Dan and I, that day finally came when I found some SUPER cheap tickets on Spirit Airlines for the first week of June, and booked us a quick trip to one of the most remote and gorgeous areas we’ve ever surfed… Chiriqui, Panama. My goal for this trip was to determine where exactly to take a select group of surfers for our 2020 WSSM Surf Retreats. So, of course, one must always do “research” in order to know what to expect, right? I know… I love my job! We knew that we already loved surfing the remoste, secluded, western-most province of Chiriqui, but were especially eager to check out some new accommodations available there. Our friend and host on our first surf trip to Panama in 2010, Steve Thompson, (former owner of Morro Negrito Surf Camp, located nearby), after a partner split, had created a beautiful new location called Surfer Paradise Surf Camp. This new camp was located on its own private island, he said. How amazing is that?!
In addition to Surfer Paradise Surf Camp, we knew we wanted to explore even further south on this trip, to check out some of the other remote areas on the southern shore. What accommodations, if any, were available, what waves were on offer (skill level needed?), and how transportation worked. Everything in Panama is really spread out, and it takes forever to get anywhere. But that’s also part of it’s magic. Surfers travelling through our WSSM Surf House in Puerto Rico, had told us if we liked the Province of Chiriqui, then we should also check out Cambutal, Playa Venao, and Santa Catalina. With it being just the two of us exploring this time, we decided these additional surf breaks and towns were a must-do in our whirlwind of a 10 day surf trip through Pacific Panama. But first, we were headed to Surfer Paradise Surf Camp, one of the most magical places in the world.