Photo: Gemma Stokes.
ADVENTURES
IN
NICARAGUA / TRAVELS IN PANAMA// / // MADEIRA
BODYBOARDING / ART PRINTS // //...ENJOY ISSUE #33 FEBRUARY 2016 Hello Sliders! A colourful edition of The Slideshow mag for you. A few stories of Slide, from trips from around the world including 2 in Central America! Hoping that wherever you are, you’ve been having a ton of fun in the water and that you enjoy this installment of The Slideshow magazine! Remember - we always welcome submissions for following issues - email us at : theslideshow.mag@gmail.com. - Editor -Gemma Stokes.
DOOR ART.
Machico, Madeira.
Perranporth, Cornwall, UK. Offshore peelers rolling through.
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
ADVENTURES IN
Nicaragua
Arriving in darkness, we walk out of Managua airport straight into a thick tropical heat. Driving out through the outskirts of the sprawling capital and into the unknown, the sights and smells of Nicaragua wash over us. Street dogs, overloaded mopeds, and local Managuans sprawl across the roads, making for a hair raising start to a mysterious three hour journey into the Nicaraguan jungle. On arrival at our first stop of the trip, were greeted by the friendly house managers at the Buena Vista Surf Club and are guided to our cabana up on stilts in the trees, where we promptly hit the hay after an exhausting twenty hour journey.
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
Back in September newly-wed Slideshow Editor Gemma Chalmers went on a honeymoon adventure to Central America
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
PLAYA MADERAS, SAN JUAN DEL SUR. 6am and our natural alarm clock - the howler monkeys in the trees outside our cabana, start their powerful dawn chorus. An epic view over the treetops down to the ocean ignites our impatience to check out the surf. Fifteen minutes later after shuffling down the steep track to the beach, we’re wading out into the water, watching where we put our feet after being warned that stingrays like to bask around in the shallows this time of morning. A fun peaky beach break greets us; it’s perhaps a little busier than we expected for Nicaragua, but the unbelievably warm water, consistency
ADVENTURES IN
Nicaragua
ADVENTURES IN
Nicaragua
of the waves and the practically constant offshore breeze goes some way to make up for this! Clean three-footers peel across the small bay, and we get a couple of fun ones. As the tide gets too high and the waves go a little funky, we return to the camp to hang out on the thousand squarefoot yoga deck jutting out dramatically over the jungle canopy. High up amongst the trees we dangle our feet off the edge of the deck and enjoy a cup of fresh Nicaraguan coffee - all before breakfast. Six cabanas and a large communal lounge make up the surf camp. Attracting those who are looking for true peace, privacy
and a break from the rat race, the clients at the surf camp immediately make for great company. Being on our honeymoon, we hadn’t really anticipated socialising to a large extent, but the vibe is relaxed and welcoming, so conversation naturally flowed. Surf, yoga, eat and repeat is on offer, and the family-style meals shared with the other camp residents and self service bar lead to enthusiastic banter and jokes. Four days in we felt like we’d been there for weeks and had blissfully lost track of the days, but it was time to move on up the coast to Popoyo, so we make our farewells and jump back in the 4x4.
As we arrive at GUASACATE, one of Popoyo’s many beach breaks, we gaze down the long beach to Popoyo reef where we see a barreling peak, and a dense pack of surfers. Rather than take on the crowd on the reef we opt to try the beachy straight in front of the path leading to the beach - a useful position marker. After a dry-hair paddle out we join a couple of bodyboarders we had met earlier at our hotel and we took turns taking waves, and hooting when someone got a good one. My husband Kit went for a nice one that rolled his way, but was pretty surprised when the receptionist from the hotel, who had earlier been enthusiastically sharing surf info with us, dropped in on him without hesitation. Ah well, one for the locals I guess.
There are parts of the country that pay to avoid - fake taxi drivers in Managua have been known to rob people for example, but most places are safe and overall the locals are friendly and welcoming. It is a country of wild beauty, and countless wave options, and definitely comes recommended for a surf trip if you ever get the chance.
Photos: Gemma Stokes.
Shortly after, the wave of the trip for me came through. It was a beautifully glassy left-hander, and started reeling out in front of me as I swooped up off the bottom turn. Earlier I had seen Pelicans surfing the thermals by swooping low across the face of unbroken waves, and as I was cruising on that wave one glided right along the wave face in front of me and we practically surfed it together. It was one of those pretty special moments in nature that you only get to experience as a surfer.
Seixal, Porto Moniz, Madeira. “Perfect sand left completely smooth by the outgoing tide was begging to be written on... The Slideshow made it’s temporary mark”.
Travels in Panama
Being a surfer in Europe you hear
options for waves, diverse landscape, Latin
the name Central America and automatically
American/ Caribbean culture and wildlife.
think of Costa Rica or Mexico. When
Living on Devon’s south coast and spending
planning a trip to Panama people didn’t even
winters in full suits with all the accessories,
know where it was or if there was surf there.
surfing freezing water in the wind and rain,
Popular with American tourists and most
January seemed like the perfect month for
famous for its canal, Panama has lots to
an escape to the tropical waters and climate
offer surfers of all abilities. The Pacific and
of Panama. The Pacific season for waves
Caribbean coastlines offer up thousands of
occurs in the UK summer and the Caribbean
coast picks up the most swell in our winter, reading through the guidebooks we were
The Pacific coast consists of long sandy volcanic beaches, bays and rugged coastlines fringed with palm trees and farmland. Playa Venao, a well-known beach break, was our first experience of surfing in Panama. Turning up in the off season we weren’t sure what to expect but waist high peelers and hiking through the forest surrounded by
Photos: Courtesy of Gen Conquest.
expecting some good waves, its rarely completely flat.
Travels in Panama
Photos: Zaccaria Exhenry and Killa Schuetz Photos: Courtesy of Gen Conquest.
The Pacific season for waves occurs in the UK summer and the Caribbean coast picks up the most swell in our winter, reading through the guidebooks we were expecting some good waves, its rarely completely flat.
monkeys and butterflies exceeded my expectations, along with my first taste of surfing in warm water without a wetsuit, heaven! The Pacific coasts’ Santa Catalina is a world class wave and was considered flat when we arrived at the sleepy town (probably not so sleepy when the swell season arrives), the locals idea of flat was not mine, shoulder to head high reef break with a 10 minute paddle out suited me fine. Crossing Panama to reach the Caribbean coast turned out to be a bit of luck for us, being dropped on the side of the road and hitching a lift on a disused bus with our broken Spanish turned into a great road trip across the hills and highlands of the country. Dropping down into the low lands of the Caribbean coast felt like being in a different country, tropical islands as far as you could see with banana plantations lining the roads. Bocas del Toro is the surfing hub of Caribbean Panama, with taxi boats ferrying tourists and surfers from island to island among the wooden towns, reef breaks and beach breaks. Bocas town is busy but escaping to a nearby island to beat the hordes of tourists shows you tropical island life and Caribbean culture in the wooden stilted villages. Reef breaks and beach breaks are a short boat trip away and flagging down a water taxi from the breaks when you’ve finished your session is a great experience. There are still empty waves around if you get
Travels in Panama the taxis to take you a bit further. Again according to the locals it was flat but shoulder high clean surf in warm water and sunshine beats the English winter and onshore mess any day!
Photos: Courtesy of Gen Conquest.
Words and pictures by Gen Conquest.
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira. “The many painted doors of this back lane in Old Funchal are vibrant with colour and imagination. This was our favourite�. - Gemma Stokes - Slideshow Editor.
Carina Carvhalo: Madeiran Bodyboarder - taking the drop.
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
Carina’s pretty inspiring. She’s pretty much the only female surfrider in Madeira, and definitely doesn’t let the guys push her around. She takes on some hefty waves on the points and reefs out there, and when she’s not out in the water she busies herself with coaching the next generation of bodyboarders, as well as competing and helping to organise international bodyboard events.
Photo: Gemma Stokes.
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