Tag: Pedasi

Exploring in The Peninsula De Azuero

We are continuing to explore the beautiful Republic of Panama. Our travels are taking us from Playa Boca Chica, where we explored magnificent islands and a remote resort, to Pedasi. Pedasi is also a quiet community where we found a few small bed and breakfast type resorts. Our reservation is at Punta Franca Hotel. We found Punta Franca rustic but adequate. There were over twenty guest rooms, a pool, and a restaurant. We had panoramic views of the ocean, but the resort was sitting on a rock cliff. A visit to the beach involved a long walk or a short car ride. Although the remote location was nothing compared to Regalo where we stayed in Boca Chica, it was on a washed out road about 5KM from the pavement. We met our good friends (adventure partners) Ty and Lyn here, and spent a relaxing afternoon in the pool. We decided to enjoy the restaurant at the hotel for dinner. The food was good but the service left a bit to be desired. Our long wait for dinner gave us time to set a plan for our adventure the following day.

Our hope was that we would get a boat tour to Isla Iguana, but the timing did not work out. We decided to drive south along the coast and explore. After breakfast, we set off in Ty’s truck for a day of awesome adventure. The road was sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We drove past Playa Venao which is probably the largest resort community on the peninsula. There were a few people around, but the activity was light. The main reason we decided not to investigate living here is the proximity to airports, health care, and grocery stores. It is an awesome place to visit but too remote for us. As we drove south we moved away from the ocean and into the mountains. We were speechless at the amazing mountain views and farms along the way.

We knew that the ocean was just on the other side of the mountains where it was obvious to us the most important thing to these people is farming. We rarely saw any houses. When we saw people they were friendly and welcoming even though it was obvious to us that they didn’t often see “gringos” driving around here. At some point we decided to drive until we reached the end of the road. We now refer to this adventure as the “end of the road adventure”. We knew that if we continued south we would reach the south end of the peninsula. We emerged from the mountain road onto a beautiful beach at a town called Cambatul. From there we drove west for a couple of Kilometers on a two-track until the road literally ended. Before it ended we did pass through two small rivers. We turned back and went back to the place where we emerged from the mountain road onto the beach. There we found a quaint little resort with tile roofed cabins on stilts and a restaurant. We took a swim on the beach and were welcomed into their establishment through a path from the beach. Along the path we found showers to rinse off the sand. The Panamanian owner waited on us and he spoke perfect English. His wife was cooking and the menu was exceptional. We had no problem agreeing to return to this place for an entire weekend.

This adventure ended much to soon. As we headed for home we agreed to take another adventure together very soon. We have yet to see any of the Caribbean coast. Our next adventure will be to Portebello on the Atlantic coast, east of the Panama Canal. There are some ancient ruins there and opportunities to explore the  islands.

We are quickly learning that this life is a daily blessing. At times we miss our family, but the world is so small now we can talk as often as we wish. We have a lifestyle here that far exceeds anything we could afford in the States. We have chosen to live in a high end resort community where most of our friends and neighbors are English speaking, but we have the ability to go off on adventures that remind us where we really are. In a few weeks we are going to explore in Costa Rica for a few days. There is a whole big world to explore. We encourage you all to take some chances and spend some time outside your comfort zone. Life is too short. We have been reading in Ecclesiastes during our journey through the Bible and chapter 3 verses 11-13 reminds us that “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.” There is nothing more true for us today.

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Blessings,

Greg and Jen

 

Let the excursion planning begin

As promised, we will mix it up a bit and start sharing our excursion planning. Our home away from home will be in Coronado which is on the Pacific coast, west of Panama City. We want to start out with an excursion that is not too far from home.  La Villa de los Santos is a small town down the coast from Coronado. It lies south of Chitre’ on the Azuero Peninsula, near the Golfo de Panama (Pacific Ocean). The destination is less than 2-1/2 hours from our condo.

The town of La Villa is a quiet town that hosts a couple of festivals every year, but its true claim to fame is that it is where Panamanian independence began. In 1821 the people of Los Santos wrote a letter to the leader of Columbia asking for assistance, and 18 days later they were able to declare independence from Spain. It was at this time that Panama aligned itself with Columbia. The people of Panama felt that they may need Columbia’s protection, should there be, conflicts in the future. This alignment with Columbia turned out to be not so good for Panama. It will be a little more than 80 years, in 1903, when they will claim their 2nd independence.  Panama’s independence is celebrated in November here in La Villa. They also celebrate Flag Day on November 4, and Colon Day on November 5. Colon Day is like Columbus Day in the U.S., celebrating when Columbus discovered the New World. It is the month of November that La Villa comes alive with festivals, however we will be there in February when it will be quiet, friendly, and unassuming.

The  Smithsonian is managing an archaeological dig in La Villa. This is where the first inhabitants of Panama lived nearly 11,000 years ago. The Spanish did not arrive here until about 500 years ago.

We will find very few expats here; and it may be a challenge for us to communicate. Our research tells us that we could easily live here on less than $1000. per month. The food will be all locally grown, the rents are low, and there is very little on which to spend money. La Villa appears to be one of the friendliest and most affordable places to live in Panama. Chitre’, Las Tablas, and Pedasi are expat destinations not far from La Villa. These towns are all situated on the Golfo de Panama, as well.

The Azuero Peninsula will be one of our early excursions. It seems that the area can give us an economical, friendly, laid-back, lifestyle while keeping us near the ocean. We are excited about exploring the interior as well. The mountain and rain forest destinations will be on our excursion list.

This post would not be complete without a Spanish lesson. Today’s word is cocinar. Cocinar means  to cook. Muy bien means very good. La would estar  muy bien a cocinar algunos gran Panamanian la comida. Translated…It would be very good to cook some great Panamanian food. Thanks again for checking in. Remember to check back often, like and share.

Panama map

 

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