Spending a day with the Cayuco Paunch paddling team
Yesterday, I decided to spend a day away from the computer to enjoy the company of my friends in the real world. Some of my favorite people here in Bocas del Toro happen to be famous in Panama: The Cayuco Paunch paddle team (https://www.instagram.com/cayucopaunch/), a local all women canoe paddling team called Paunch. They were national champions in 2017 and are currently in the midst of the 2018 racing season. Their biggest race will take place in March, and is called the Ocean to Ocean race, which crosses the Panama Canal.
For those that don’t know the sport, cayuco racing is very popular in Panama, and the Bocas del Toro team represented by 
I don’t paddle myself, but we are all members of the Bocas Fight Gym where we also training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Strength and Conditioning together.
Yesterday was Sasi’s birthday, and we decided to paddle out to the new Floating Bar that just opened. We hadn’t tried it yet, so it was the occasion to get to know a new place.
Since I had never paddled before yesterday,
I’m second from the left, and I’m easy to spot because I’m surely the least coordinated one here.
Paddling is no easy task, and it looks much easier than it actually is. First of all, it’s extremely hard to keep the cayuco balanced, and any slight movement or wave can make it tip over. You have to paddle exactly in the same rhythm, and I had to follow Sasi on the right when Esther and Romaine were in sync on the other side.
Esther, myself, Romaine and Sasi from left to right
Needless to say that it was a bit rocky at first, but on the way back I kinda got the hang of it. It’s pretty demanding physically and a great workout for the arms and the core. I can’t even imagine what it must be like on a long 4 hours race through the Panama Canal…
As soon as we arrived, people were cheering for the team. It was funny to be part of the VIP treatment for a little, as people thought I was part of the team. It’s an easy confusion since we are together a lot anyways.
Guests at the bar were buying us drinks and food, and we had a great time swimming and just laughing with each other.
The whole team is vegan and vegetarian, so we ordered chips and salsa and some veggie tacos. The food was tasty, and just what we needed on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The view didn’t disappoint us either (it never does in Bocas)
At the end of the day we paddled back to the dock, at the Bocas Dive Center. If you’re into scuba diving this is the place we recommend. They have the best equipment and are PADI certified. The hotel is also very nice and offers vegan food!
All in all paddling was a great experience, and I’d be happy to do it again!
