The place was Las Lajas, Chiriqui Province.
It was some 240 kilometres along the Pan-American Highway from Anton where our rental was. A straight road , so easy to find. But the road is in a terrible state with LARGE cracks across both carriageways. Even the big American trucks slowed down to navigate through some parts . They are repairing and widening parts of it but it was still a nightmare.
Once we arrived at our B & B we breathed a sigh of relief.
We stayed at Residence Las Lajas, a small establishment run by a married couple, Paolo and Ramona.
Paolo is Italian and Ramona from Romania. Little English was spoken as Paolo only speaks Italian and Spanish and Ramona speaks Romanian, Italian,Spanish and a little English.
So Anita's Italian was put to good use.
They work very hard and treated us like family rather than customers .
We were treated to a very good breakfast every day ( included ) and a few evening meals . Although the menu was mainly fish of some description they did make an effort to make Anita s non fish meal. The portions were so HUGE though.
One day I had a surf and turf which was King prawns and other seafood with pasta. It was a challenge to finish it but I managed it, just.
So we were more than happy with our accommodation but the views in this area were truly breathtaking . It was so lush and green and the beaches are to die for.
No high rise hotels in this region. Small hotels and beach bars.
We visited Nelly's , a surf bar that also had cabins to rent. One lunch time we had very tasty freshly cooked burgers , not the flat tasteless processed ones you sometimes get fobbed off with.
As our B & B had no pool we had discounted entry to Las Lamas Playa hotel which was on the beach. We had day passes for $7.50 which allowed us to use the pool, sun loungers, Bohos and free towels.
It had a great Latin feel to it and direct access to the beach . Again with spectacular views.
With many areas in Panama you drive along countryside roads such as Las Lajas, then hit a junction and you are at the beach .
The beach here is wide and golden and runs for miles. You can venture a long way out on shallow water.
One day at the beach the local lifeguards were training and part of their rescue was CPR. I really wanted to help them but....."
Being a Catholic country they celebrate Christian festivals in a big way. We were there for Mother's Day and we heard children singing in the school , a special mass on the church and lots of music coming from the cantinas and people's houses. They hold a fiesta at the drop of a hat which is not a bad thing. Although you might see a cowboy drunk in charge of a horse!!
About an hours drive away is David, the capital of the province and a little further Boquete. This did not feel like Panama. Maybe this was due to the large ex pat community. But it was definItely off our list.
One interesting spot we found was a place called Nancito. It was up a mountain but was a very pretty village with a museum. The museum houses some ancient pottery and in the grounds there are large rocks with ancient carvings. One of the ladies that looked after the museum showed us around but unfortunately was all in Spanish. But at least it was free.
So great views , wonderful climate and tasty food.
Across the road from where we were staying was an Italian restaurant called Naturelemente . They had a wide selection of dishes from pizzas , pastas to specials of the day.
We went there a few times and twice had wonderful wholesome soups. One day 3 courses with drinks came to under $40.
The Panamanian waitress taught me a phrase which was " Bueno Bueno " which means very good.
In fact all the food we had there was Bueno Bueno.
Another FIND was an Italian ice cream parlour called Chiriquicream . It was to die for, and again so cheap. Plus decent coffee. I forgot to mention the ice cream is homemade. Making their ownmagna and ice cream sandwiches.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it,
Two more things to mention.
The first is the 2 earthquakes we had. One was not too bad but the second was at 4 a.m. At 6.7 was very strong and shook us out of bed. We stumbled out of the room . It only lasted for about 30 seconds but was very frightening . Apparently we were only about 60 kilometres from the epicentre .
We sat out on the terrace for a time to make sure it was safe. Strange that the indigenous tribe living next door seemed untroubled by it all in the corrugated tin homes.
The last event there was an off road trip in a 4 X 4 to a thermal spring but it had lost it's water. Maybe because of the earthquake .
All in all Las Lajas Chiriqui is at the top of our list to re visit.
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