Kayaking Panama with paddlepanama

The best time one can have on the water is with family and friends.

Quebro a community project , to develop sustainable tourism and conservation of seat turtles

Sound’s like a paddlepanama adventure, kayak the Quebro mangroves

4 Knights Bridge School families set of to Quebro on the West side of the Azuero Peninsula, for a long weekend of kayaking, surfing, hiking and releasing newly hatched sea turtles , it could not have been better

For a while we left our iPads and cell phones behind dads and moms there work and we enjoyed family time on the water

In the process we supported the local Quebro community in there efforts to conserve and develop sustainable tourism

Hiking, kayaking, and visiting turtle nest at night made for a awesome adventure island week

Join us on our next adventure

info@paddlepanama.com

PANAMA PADDLE CENTER

KLUB ACTIVITIES FEBRUARY 2013

Fantastic weather and venues made February truly great kayaking.

This was a month for family activities and the kids, camping and kayaking in La Represa on Gatun Lake. Close to Panama City with protected water and great infrastructure it is a great place to go to.

The trip was actually so success full that we did it twice in February on popular demand

The Peacock bass made for some exciting fishing for the kids, it was great to see my 7-year-old son Joshua paddling my Evolution 465 with his rod hunting the Peacock bass

We toke time for training, safety always a priority and paddling technics

On the trip we also demo some of our new kayaks boats and surf ski’s

Last day we had our customary race event racing around the small marina, any thing goes

Well be posting our calendar join us these trips are lots of fun.

Hennie

April saw us heading to Fort San Lorenzo. This is a great kayaking place, with such a amazing history. Our Kayaking spot right in the shade of Fort San Lorenzo, One will find safe water inside the river mouth and great surfski conditions in the river mouth.

On route we found major land slides and detour route , the kids loved it

Being in nature part of Kayaking , and we found this amazing stick bug

For more info on our family trips contact Hennie@paddlepanama.com, 67803346

Paddle hard and tight lines

Hennie

At the end of May 2012 we had a fantastic family kayaking day on Lake Gatun There were two couples with two children each and a dad (myself) and daughter. The ten of us were joined by backup support from Jungle Land Panama and Gatun Lodge who brought a motorised ‘panga’ launch as backup.

The day began with a drive to the shore of Lake Gatun somewhere near Arenosa, via El Rey in la Chorrera to stock up on soda, juice and snacks to keep us going. We arrived at the lakeside and donned our wet gear and lifejackets, unloaded the kayaks from the roofrack and went to meet the panga driver at the wooden jetty. We had some young children with us who were experiencing kayaks and paddling for the first time and, of course, Hennie and Ursula’s two children were the seasoned veterans. We had two Perception Tribe 13.5 ‘s which have seating for two people and a child seat between the two. The child seat can be used by an adult wanting to paddle it alone. The other two kayaks were Stealth models with more streamlined profiles, lighter weight and with rudder steering.

The children wore themselves out after some great paddling efforts and took to the motor launch. Where they chatted happily for the rest of the journey to our lunch destination. We adults took turns in kayaks and swapped from Perception Tribe Tandems to the two Stealth Kayaks. After having enjoyed some paddling time with my daughter and her tandem partners I used the Stealth Evolution 430 fishing kayak. It’s the shortest of the Stealth ‘Evo’s but I still enjoyed the ease of paddling after the ultra stable tandem. We passed a couple of motor boats that were slowly cruising the remote parts of this huge complex of flooded valleys, and that’s all that we saw of other people. There were numerous turns to the left or right and numerous forks on the way to Captain Carl’s ‘Gatun Lodge‘. I could imagine getting lost in this labyrinth of jungle lined waterways and not being discovered for days. Until your really sure of your way around it I would emphatically recommend a guide or at the very least a GPS and large scale map. Getting lost there could be fatal.

Captain Carl’s lunch at his floating hotel was, as ever, a superb feast. With our energy restored we had an absolute blast there with the kids swinging about in the ‘hammock lounge’ and enjoying the river as you can see in the video. My daughter really wants to return there, and me too, as soon as possible !! We had arrived for lunch way after the schedule and so we returned back to base with motor power towing the kayaks behind us. The two tandems have stayed at the lodge to join the fleet there.

Sports participation has been a problem for me in Panama because of the temperature and humidity, and I know most people my age are also coming up with 101 excuses for why they don’t take regular exercise. I love to surf but there are not waves all of the time. I’m very glad to have rediscovered kayaking, which I used to do in the English rivers a long time ago, because now when there are no waves locally and I can’t justify a weekend away from my young family to find the bigger waves at Santa Catalina, I can get a good workout surrounded by vibrant nature on the cool of the water that I love. I can also now enjoy all of this with my small child, I’m so happy about it !! My wife couldn’t make the trip as she was studying for a professional exam, but next time this time it’ll be the whole family kayaking. I hope you’ll be coming along too, just contact the Paddle Panama