Pedasi is an easy trip from Las Tablas or Chitre where you'll probably find the nearest and biggest grocery stores. From the town's main street you can walk, quite a few minutes albeit, to the beach where on a clear night you can just about pick out the lights coming from boats waiting to go through the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. Real Estate in Pedasi is beginning to blossom like a teenage dandelion, large pieces of property and oceanfront farms changing from the callused hands of farmers who've owned them all their lives to the pale and manicured palms of gringo developers. Both parties, you'll be happy to know, are making major bank on the deals.

There are several Pedasi hotels, my favorite being Dim's Hostel. The word ‘hostel' to me conjures up nothing but negative things. Even as an optimist, I don't hear ‘hostel' and think wow, what a great chance to meet new friends. No, I hear ‘hostel' and think screechy metal framed-bunk beds, common and unhygienic bathrooms that I have to share with smelly backpackers whose idea of cleanliness includes granola bars and wooden beads. Dim's is actually quite nice though, partially fracturing the hostel stereotype, my particular favorite part being its internet-outfitted BBQ area. Stay at Dim's for a week. Stay for a night. See if I care.

The downtown part Pedasi, if you are courageous enough to call it that, is saddled by long stretches of rolling hills, not unlike you'll see in the countryside of Vermont or Maine. For you Californians out there, the rustic coastline and jungle-icious mountain backdrop is quite similar, in my opinion, to the Tustin and Laguna areas. The people of Pedasi though, don't wear stupid sunglasses. They don't call you annoying things like 'bra' or 'dude'. They don't drive flat little convertibles that look like roving mousetraps and they definitely don't know who Paris Hilton is or why she flashes everyone.

Just a short ride from Pedasi you can hit several appealing spots such as Isla Iguana, Isla de Cana, and the all-too-radical Playa Venado where surfers ride the waves during the day and drink beers by the crateful at night. La Playita Resort isn't too far either; this wacky establishment which can't quite decide whether it's a zoo or a hotel. Mostly, the people I encounter down near Pedasi are either nomadic American surfers—the kind of guys who don't shave or wear shoes—or investors down in pursuit of some majestic real estate acquisition.

Pedasi is great and now that its airport has re-opened, flights coming in via Air Panama, there's no reason not to visit. Azuero is known to be the cultural core of Panama and there is no place better to see this ethos better than this quaint town where the land (cue the corny last sentence ending) meets the Peda-sea.

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Comments (1)

Jim Forrester: Kinda like coming home........ I've just returned from a week in Pedasi. All I can say is that I felt like I had come home when I arrived in Pedasi. I've only had that feeling 2x before. I was impressed by how clean and neet the village was. I stayed at Dim's and aside from the cold shower I found the staff very attentive, especially Dina, and the breakfast every morning was wonderful. I believe all the rooms had A/C and were all very clean and the beds were more than comfortable. While there I discovered this restaurant, Comidas Criollas y Mariscos, just 2 doors from Dim's. It's owned by Joe & Maria Dusek. The place is GREAT !!!! Great food and good service and Joe and Maria both speak fluent English and are always very knowledgeable about the Azuero and have great sense of humor. Any meal there will be an enjoyment. Beaches are very nice and nearby but I liked driving away from town by the ranches and stopping by the cemetery to listen to the deafening silence at sunset. A truly wonderful experience. I hope to build a house there some day and enjoy this town and its wonderful inhabitants. I only hope that it doesn't lose the "home town" feeling. Thanx 2 all who made my visit a wonderful experience. Jim Forrester 1 November 28, 2007

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