For some reason, it is tough to find a productivity rhythm in Pedasí and it is a little unclear why.
Perhaps it is the heat and humidity near the Pacific coastline. Maybe it is the lack of an ideal workspace to crank out more posts. Or is it that the vibe of this sleepy coastal town is rubbing off on us?
Probably all of the above.
But since I am now properly caffeinated and have some energy before the heat of the late morning sun arrives, I figured I should get everyone up to speed on our slow travel life in Pedasí, Panama.
Welcome to Pedasí Panama
Pedasí is a small rural fishing village located on the Azuero Peninsula of Panama. It has a population of 2500 people, with around 10% being expats in one form or another.
Pedasí is an extremely laid-back place!
Although there are some local shops and restaurants in and around the town square (Plaza Mayor de Pedasi), this place is really about relaxing and enjoying the local environment.
One view of Plaza Mayor de Padasi. So much traffic! 😉
Iglesia de Santa Catalina at Plaza Mayor de Padasi.
Especially the beaches!
This isn’t terrible.
In our time here, we’ve gotten the impression that the vast majority of tourists just come to Pedasí to chill out and enjoy the relative solitude.
Which is good because there isn’t much of a nightlife to speak of!
So if you visit you better bring a book (or ten) to help you pass the time.
In many ways, it has the opposite vibe of Taganga, Colombia, the last beach town we visited.
No tourist trap waterfront area. But you have to make an effort to see the ocean.
No oppressive noise at ungodly hours. But no real nightlife either.
No throngs of weekend tourists packing the beaches and no piles of garbage littering the streets. But not a whole lot of things to buy.
And the people of Pedasí seem less interested in parting tourists with their money as a local pastime.
Even the tourist industries don’t really hard-sell visitors here. But that said, tourism activities are only limited to the beach, marine life viewing, and fishing.
This all may seem idyllic to some and horribly boring to others.
It really depends on how you are wired as a person.
Meeting Day-To-Day Needs in Pedasí Panama
Compared to Taganga, Colombia, it is really easy to meet your basic needs in Pedasí.
There are three smallish local supermarkets in easy walking distance from our Airbnb.
They are similar in many ways, but we find that there are subtle differences in prices, selection, and quality of produce. This forces us to regularly visit each of them because you never know when you will find what you need for the best possible price!
And the supermarkets also function as general stores. If you have a buying need beyond food, there is an 80% chance you can find what you are looking for there.
There are also a handful of mom & pop produce vendors in town. But to be honest, the hot climate of Panama really affects the quality, diversity, and price of what you can find.
Compared to the local markets of Ecuador, you get 1/10th the selection and quality at 5x the price!
It is what it is.
It is possible to take the local buses north to the larger towns of Las Tablas and Chitre to meet more specific shopping needs.
But Las Tablas is 45 minutes away (the bus costs $2.50 USD one way) and Chitre is farther still. Usually, it isn’t worth the effort to make the trip unless it is part of your planned entertainment for the day.
Killing Time – Going to the Beach!
There are THREE beaches within reasonable walking distance from Pedasí.
But they aren’t short walks.
And you need to time your visits so you don’t go during the hottest parts of the day. Daytime temperatures in the sun have a “real-feel” level of 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C) or more!
If the wind is calm at our Airbnb (and especially if there are clouds blocking the sun), we are more inclined to go to the beach.
Calm wind inland is critical.
Shoreline wind speeds seem to be 3-5x what you experience inland. So going to the beach during windy inland conditions means that you will get sandblasted and covered head to toe in a thick layer of sweat-caked sand.
Not exactly fun.
But if the wind conditions are calm and you visit the beach before the heat gets bad, the beaches are really nice!
And all of the beaches are largely devoid of people.
Here is our summary of the three beaches you can visit on foot:
Playa El Arenal
Found northeast of Pedasí Panama, this is probably the most visited beach near town. And it has the most direct local connections.
On foot, it takes about 45 minutes to get there.
If you want to charter a boat to visit Iguana Island (on our list of things to do!), this is where you go.
Same for whale-watching when it is the right time of year.
And you can hire a vessel for deep-ocean fishing if you are a person with deep pockets!
It is the only beach with an obvious boat presence.
The beach is wide and flat and is the best for swimming because the surf is more manageable.
Not a soul to be found. Except us.
A helpful sign for boats that come to shore from other towns.
For some reason, blue crabs are easy to find at this beach.
Playa El Toro
Found directly east of Pedasí, this beach takes 30 minutes to get to on foot.
Approaching Playa el Toro
It is a visually interesting beach as there are many igneous rock formations along the shoreline. There are lots of tidal pools at the right time of day, but not much is ever found in them except for juvenile fish, periwinkle, and the occasional chiton.
Not a bad shot for a cropped cell phone picture. Thanks, Google Pixel!
There is a local hotel and restaurant near the beach entrance as well, and they seem to be very concerned about the public taking care of the trash they bring in.
Sadly, this is because this is easily the beach most polluted by plastics. Not sure if it is from ocean tidal influx, careless people, or both.
Probably both.
Still, a beautiful place, even if you have to walk a bit to get away from the obvious signs of trash.
Beautiful, if you can overlook the plastic flotsam and jetsom.
Playa La Garita
This is probably our favorite local beach, but it takes a 60-minute walk to get there.
Found southeast of Pedasí, you could argue that Playa la Garita is just a progressive continuation of Playa el Toro.
The igneous rock formations are taller, forming a maze of rocks and secluded beach areas during low tide.
And we aren’t the only ones that like this place! Expat houses and condominiums are being built along the cliff face of this beach, unlike the others.
Thankfully, the homes are not too ostentatious and don’t really detract from the landscape much.
And the plastic trash problem is much improved here compared to Playa el Toro.
But Why Go to Just One Beach?
The nice thing about these three beaches is that they form a continuous stretch of shoreline along the Azuero Peninsula.
You can walk a huge loop connecting all three beaches and the town of Pedasí, but that is quite a walk.
What we usually do is wake up before the heat sets in and then walk to either Playa el Arenal OR Playa la Garita.
We then walk along the shore until we reach Playa el Toro, and from there walk back to town to escape the heat!
Depending on which beach we walk to first, the hike is 8 or 9 miles long and usually takes us around 3 hours to complete.
A good morning workout!
Killing More Time – A Little Voluntourism
We’ve mentioned that our Airbnb is at the environmental NGO, Pro Eco Azuero. The mission of this organization is habitat restoration in the Azuero Peninsula, along with local conservation and environmental education.
They have many activities and projects going on, but they offer regular “volunteer days” during which we have helped out.
Last Wednesday we worked with a group of local police cadets to help Pro Eco Azuero with their on-site tree nursery. We helped create seed germination pots and transplanted germinated plants that would eventually be planted in the field to restore local native habitats.
The wing of the tree nursery for saplings.
Transplanting saplings with the cadets.
Recently germinated trees.
Germination bags for new seeds. These will go into the germination area of the tree nursery.
We filled hundreds over the course of the day!
The volunteer day started at 8 am and continued until about 3:30 pm.
And by 11:30 am it got hot!
But everyone was feeling it and we got a lot of work done despite the heat.
We had a lot of fun talking to the cadets!
They were a little scared of us since they didn’t know much English, but once we broke the ice we had a lot of fun doing a language exchange as we worked.
A tiring but fulfilling day.
We’ll likely do more of them if given the chance!
Closing Thoughts
So that’s what we’ve been up to over the last 2 weeks. Figuring out the patterns of our new life in Pedasí Panama, exploring the town, combing the beaches, working on personal projects, and volunteering when we can.
It’s a pretty laid-back lifestyle.
But we are eager to spread our wings and do some more adventurous local excursions now that we know our way around and are more familiar with the local transportation options.
Stay tuned!
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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