THE GREAT PADDLE

The Sport: Sea kayaking

The Arena: San Blas Islands, Panama

Your Adventure: With rhythmic strokes of a paddle, you're propelling a candy-colored kayak through winking turquoise waters; ahead is an island of palm trees and simple wooden huts. What you don't see: a hotel, casino, or a boom-box beach blowout. This is sea kayaking along Panama's remote San Blas Islands, off the country's Caribbean coast. Panama has been earning its name for great nature-bound adventures, à la Costa Rica, and things are only getting better. Esteemed adventure-trip operator Mountain Travel Sobek has secured the only permits to explore parts of the archipelago, which belongs to the indigenous Kuna people. Paddlers will encounter the authentic villages, wonderful beaches for pitching a tent and snorkeling just offshore, and hundreds of untouched coral reefs. The kayaking is easy: just three to five hours a day, allowing for lots of time to interact with the friendly Kuna. And still not a boom box in sight.

Mountain Travel Sobek
Tel: 888 687 6235
$2,340 per person for nine days, including guides, meals, accommodations, and gear