The rush is on at Carenero, one of the gnarliest breaks Bocas presents.

All photos ©2007 Martin Edwards, Special to WhozHereNow.com
Featured surfer in every photo: Bolivar Andres

Only a $2, ten-minute boat ride from Bocastown is one of the swellest surfing spots in the island chain, due to the frequency of its long, peeling lefts that are fast, quick to tube, and typically sustain rides of 150 meters or more when Carenero's on.

The point-break takes its name from the island beside it, Isla Carenero, which faces Bocastown from the east. (Trivia: The island was itself named by pirates, who would careen their ships on it shores and patch holes in them created by wood worms.)

Carenero can be surfed most of the year and it breaks regardless of tide. Expect a thick lip and a deep pit. For the money, it's hard to beat.

Additionally: you'd be well advised to wear booties, as Carenero breaks over a reef; and, the area occasionally attracts lemon sharks, which don't pose a threat to surfers, but the sight of a fin in the water can be disconcerting.

Boatmen accustomed to taking surfers to Carenero can be found at water's edge near Taxi 25 and Cable & Wireless, on Calle 1 near Avenida Central, and near El Pirate restaurant-bar on the main drag.

Be sure to arrange for the boatman to pick you up at a specified time, and don't pay for the ride out until after you've been returned to Bocas Town.

Boards can be rented at Tropix, a surfers' store on Calle 3 (main street) at Avenida Central in Bocas Town, and at Flow, which also rents bikes, on Calle 2 at Avenida E.

Location

West coast

Isla Carenero

Panama