Panama lost on the Pacific coast with Brock taylor
When Brock Taylor asked me to go to Panama there was no question to it, yes, I’m in. This is my third time to Central America this year. everytime I go it has been to a different country which has really made it awesome. And each time it seems like the surf has been a little better than the last… Maybe it will always trend that way! In these past three trips Central America has really grown on me and each time I love the food, culture and people even more than the last.
Brock told me he was going to take me to a little beach break very few people know about or how to get to. I’m always excited to hear those words! I’m even more excited to hear that the time of year we are visiting is the best time of the year to go. Immediately that makes the day dreaming begin and the hype starts flowing. Well Brock was absolutely correct about everything. This hidden gem of a beach break was out in the middle of no-mans land and the surf was on point the entire ten days of our trip. We had offshore winds in the morning with glass off’s in the evening and a steady pulse of 4-6ft swell, a surfers dream trip coming true.
We thought about exploring and driving around to see more of Panama and look for surf during the planning of our trip, but we never had to go look further than the front porch we were staying on for the entirety of it. Every mornings surf checked started with a french press on the porch in our outside kitchen where we could watch the sun reflect off of the waves we were about to go enjoy. It was as easy as that everyday. Wax up and go.
I had the privilege of bringing my wife Tatum along on this trip and she proved herself valuable behind the lens. She spent the days on a beautiful black sand beach under the palms filming for a short edit.
Our first morning proved to be one of the better days of the trip. Brock packed so many barrels in nice overhead, clean conditions.
We were fired up.
Tides and wind always play a big role on beach breaks. With the tidal change being at 12ft from low to high we were often left with large amounts of down time during low tide periods. If you are in a place like Panama that is not a bad thing. Waterfalls, hikes, and adventure were around every corner. Sometimes surf trips aren't about surfing as much as they are about seeing the land you are visiting.
Here's a few pieces to the adventure.
One of the better adventures we had was finding this restaurant where we had dinner almost every night. An exhausted crew of surfers could go fill up on a huge plate of fresh fish, rice and beans. The fresh Ono steaks were the biggest I've ever seen, and the Ahi was on point. Pick anything on the menu you were going home full and very happy.
Dinners like that kept us charging.
In the last two days a new swell filled in, the winds cooperated, and things really got fun. Just a notch larger than what it had been, there were a few more moments to really soak this place in.
Down time on a trip = Food and Chill.
Breaking it down.
Brock and I spent a lot of time trying to link up for this shot. Beach breaks are tricky to shoot especially when its big. The currents, mostly rips, just make a good line-up very hard to do. Persistence paid of for us in the long run.
You've seen the photos, now watch the edit.
A huge thank you to Tatum for spending so much time behind the lens and really nailing a lot of solid shots.
Thanks so much for taking a look at our Panama trip. We hope you enjoyed and feel a little inspired to get out there yourself.
See you in the water.
A special thank you to Matt Roy, aka Barba Roja, for the rides, housing, and expert guidance. You're the man.
Photography & Edit by Nathaniel Harrington - natehphoto.com - @natehphoto