Pedasí: Our last words

Pedasí and the Azuero Peninsula are lush and beautiful. I’m sure our accommodation added to our enjoyment with colorful flowers and shade trees everywhere.

We had critters to play with whenever we wanted some company.

And the addition of an above-ground pool partway through our stay gave us a welcome refresher every afternoon. The ocean was a little over 3km away, but there was little shade and sometimes a high surf or microscopic stinging jellyfish. We did manage a few good swim days.

It was hot but breezy in December/January (the beginning of the dry season). Interestingly, our hosts prefer the wet season, when the almost daily rains keep things fresh and cooler.

There are several decent restaurants (Al Natural, Bohemia, The Corner, and Pedasiana are a few we enjoyed), inexpensive cantinas, and live music (we only got to Smiley’s where a house band and sometimes guests play Tuesday and Fridays).

People are really friendly and respond happily to an hola or buenos/as as they sit on their porches or pass by on the street. It is common to greet other patrons when you walk into a store or restaurant, or climb onto a bus (and on the bus, the passengers join in a cheery reply).

Safety was not a concern–we were comfortable walking even on our darkish dirt road to get to and from town late at night.

Home sweet home?

Though we are fully committed to living nomadically, we have also said that if some location strikes us as a place we’d like to live, who knows? Just because a city or town isn’t “home sweet home” doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our time there, just that it isn’t the kind of place we feel we could settle down in.

Is Pedasí that place? No, because, nice as it is, it really isn’t a place where we could live easily without having a vehicle and we want to live where a car is not a requirement. That means that groceries, especially plentiful produce, must be easily accessible, either by foot, bicycle, or a short ride on public transit. Even staying as close to town as we did, we were challenged by the lack of quality, fresh ingredients. It was all great for a short stay, but I think that everyone who lives there long term drives at least 40 minutes to the nearest town of Las Tablas, and most go another 20 minutes further to Chitré for more selection.

And as for activities, bikes would allow us easily to get to a couple of beaches, and a bus to at least one more. But for more exploration, a car is required and the one option for rental cars is far too expensive for regular bookings.