Photos by Sandy Kay, Andrea Ranner, Cathy Senecal and Ruth Marr.
When I reflect on our recent Panama resort rowing adventure, I am struck by how all involved took a chance.
It is always a bit nerve racking for us to run a trip for the first time, especially when I have not had the chance to scout the destination. After research and discussions with the resort team, I was confident enough to offer the trip. But it still was a chance.
Our intrepid guests very much took a chance by going on an untested trip in an exotic destination. All of them had travelled with us previously, and most had been on test trips before.
Perhaps the biggest chance has been taken by Otto Oosterwijk, one of the owners of Seagull Cove Resort in Boca Chica, where our Panama resort rowing trip took place. A previous blog post shared the story behind the trip. Otto invested in the purchase of coastal rowing shells and related infrastructure plus brought a trainer from the Netherlands for the set-up. Having spent a week with Otto, I better understand his vision and his absolute determination to succeed in introducing rowing to Chiriquí Province, creating a sustainable rowing club and making his resort a destination for rowers. Like any entrepreneur, he is taking a chance that his vision will succeed.
Highlights
The rowing
This is the most important aspect of any rowing trip. There should be sufficient rowing of excellent quality with enough variety. The Panama trip delivered. If we went left from the resort beach, we headed into coastal rowing waters. Sometimes fairly calm, other times quite feisty and best of all, one day of wonderful rollers from the Pacific, perfect for surfing and playing. Leaving to the right, we rowed a channel past the village of Boca Chica and on to calm, flat water. The channel posed a few challenges with current, eddies and swirling water especially with the tide pushing against boat wakes, but this was brief. Everywhere there were choices of islands to circumnavigate, bays to explore, mangrove groves to examine.
One highlight was the biggest day of rowing. We took just one double and one single with the rest of the team following in a panga, the local style of transportation. Our destination was Isla Gamez by Isla Paridas, about 17 km away on mostly open water. This was the one day during the entire week when the sun shone almost non-stop. Beautiful but we missed the clouds as it was hot, hot, hot. Both on the way out and the way back we did on-water crew changes – using a technique perfected during our FISA Development Rowing Tour Maldives 2015. Rüdiger rowed all 34 km, out in the double and back in the single. Andrea and I both spent time in the single and the double, Sandy rowed out in the double, Linda explored the islands in the single and Otto rowed partway back in the double. What a fantastic day.
Valet Boat Service
Unexpected, superb and something we cannot get used to. Rowers take care of their equipment. We carry it, wash it, maintain it, store it. For Panama resort rowing we didn’t. Marvin and Marceliño did it all for us, efficiently, calmly and pleasantly. When we came down after breakfast for the morning row, the boats would be lined up on their trolleys at the edge of the water, oars in, ready to launch. When we returned, our boat handlers were waiting for us on the beach, coming into the water to help us out and float the boats onto the trolleys. They washed everything and used brushes to remove the inevitable dirt and small stones that snuck into the tracks for the foot stretchers and the seats. Two metal runners the exact width of the trolley wheels helped maneuver the boats off the beach to the racks, with lots of lifting still required. Both Marvin and Marceliño had a day away from their other duties maintaining the grounds and the resort by coming with us on the excursion to the islands. They finally got to see what went on after we left the beach.
Fabulous accommodation and food
The resort is as luxurious as the boat valet service. Six bungalows climb the hill to the pool and main building housing the kitchen and dining rooms at the top. And the bar. Ginger margaritas were so popular they ran out of ginger. Each bungalow is spacious and well appointed, including a balcony with views of the water. As an added bonus, howler monkeys provided a complimentary morning wake up service.
The food was fabulous and plentiful. On Saturday night we joined local expats for drinks and dinner at the Tiki Bar down on the water – interrupted by lashings of wind and rain but lots of fun. Another evening the resort team prepared a full Panamanian menu of local dishes for us. On our final night we headed into Boca Chica for a cooking class, enjoying two types of ceviche plus arroz con pollo, a celebratory dish.
There is something to be said for a centre-based trip. Guests like not having to repack plus there are fewer transportation requirements. Conversely a point-to-point or sampler type of trip can offer greater variety of scenery, accommodation and food. Just like our BC Wilderness Rowing adventure where we stay in a charming remote lodge, this Panama resort rowing checked all the right boxes, including quality and variety, to make staying in one place a pleasure. An extra advantage in Panama was that we could tailor different rowing experiences to suit all the guests.
The people
The final and equally important highlight of our Panama resort rowing trip was the wonderful and remarkable people of the resort and of Panama. I have already mentioned Otto, Marvin and Marceliño. Melissa worked patiently with me to get the trip organized and participated in some of our activities. Juan is the resort manager and is phenomenal. To illustrate, one day after rowing, those of us who had been on the Maldives trip shared a tale with Juan about being welcomed with coconuts to drink when we landed. The next day, what was waiting for us after our row? Coconuts to drink! That attention to detail and care for the guests was apparent in all of the resort staff. After one row I put my dirty socks and water shoes on the balcony before heading elsewhere. I came back later to discover that when our bungalow was cleaned, those socks and shoes were washed and carefully laid out to dry.
I was impressed with all the Panamanians we met. During our stay, ongoing protests and road blockades disrupted daily life, travel and business. As a tourist this was interesting and just a minor inconvenience. Obviously mine is superficial knowledge with limited understanding, but I was impressed by how people responded with tolerance, patience and the constant finding of solutions. We could not get to the resort on the first day due to blockades – the Seagull Cove Resort team found a fantastic solution by taking us to the highlands at Boquete for a night, the next day adding in a hike and coffee tour before getting us to the resort by boat. We still squeezed in a row that afternoon. Before and after the resort part of the trip, I encountered friendly and very helpful Panamanians. People greeted and chatted with us and gave us help that we requested and sometimes did not even know that we needed. Special mention to the staff of Copa Airlines in both David and Panama City.
Panama resort rowing: the bottom line
It was a chance well taken by all. Our Panama resort rowing adventure was truly amazing. Perhaps Rowing The World will run another group and guided trip in 2024. Let us know if you are interested by sending us this form with Panama selected. It is a prefect place for a private trip by a club. We will also create an Independent Rowing Experience for our Travel2Row website, offering great flexibility and options for one or two couples or a few friends who want to pick their own dates. Highly recommended. Your turn to take a chance.
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