Panama's Pedasí: Playground For Some of The Jet Set
By Juan Carlos Martinez
Pedasí is a small town in the middle of nowhere in Panama, with a rich history and beautiful, natural, unspoiled landscape. It is located in the province of Los Santos right in on the Pacific coast of the area called the Central Provinces. It is a very small town with a charm that is all its own. You will find traditional dwellings, quaint restaurants with typical food, wonderful flora and spectacular natural views.
Pedasí has some 10 beaches within easy distance: Lagart Point, Playa Venao, El Toro, Los Destiladeros and El Ciruelo. These beaches have wonderful textured sand and various types of surf. There is something for everyone.
Biodiversity is also present close to Pedasí. A short boat ride away is Isla Iguana, 7 km from the coast; a 16 hectare coral reef where you can see more than 500 species of fish and 10 types of coral. Additionally from April to September you can watch marine turtles migrating from the North and South Pole come to lay there eggs on these beaches as well as whales who come to mate in tropical waters.
It has recently become easier to get to Pedasí. It used to be that you had to drive or take a bus to get there but this year local air carrier AeroPerlas has opened a flight from Panama City's Marcos Gelabert Airport (Albrook) to Pedasí which leaves every Monday and Friday, takes only 55 minutes and a round trip ticket costs approximately $150.00. A drive will take approximately 4 hours.
Surprisingly for a small town there are several lodging options available and they manage to cover just about everyone's budget. There are the luxury resort type lodgings such as Villa Camilla, Casita Margarita and Azuero Ocean Lofts as well as more simple options like Hostal Doña Maria and Casa de Campo.
There are also gated luxury, retirement communities going up in the Pedasí region. Andromeda Ocean Estates and Quintas El Toro are some of the projects going up, however there is a lot of real estate available for sale in Pedasí and the surrounding areas. The pace is easy, the climate is tropical, the people are friendly and nature is right outside your window; it is a great place to retire. If for some reason you hanker the comforts of more urban atmosphere you are about an hour or less away from Chitre which is a small city with movie theaters, hotels and modern amenities.
However small and unspoiled it may seem, it is internationally famous among some of the jet set and the Hollywood set. It has been confirmed that Mel Gibson has bought large tracts of land in Pedasi and has flown to Panama and stayed at one of the hotels there several times. This is well know fact around Panama, yet it is rumored that he is not the only celebrity that enjoys visiting Pedasi. The one thing everyone in Pedasi does agree on is that most celebrities stay in Villa Camilla and while most are recognized the locals are respectful and keep their distance which is one of the reasons they visit plus the wonderful fishing, the climate and the scenery.
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