After a 5 hour drive from Panama city on Sunday night, we finally made it to Pedasi, the very Eastern most tip of the La Santos province. When we arrived, the town was dead silent, only the moan of some perros having bad dreams could be heard. This all changed as we rolled into R’s house, which was occupied by a couple of families. As the core nuclear family’s kids started having significant others, the custom was that they stay at the house, and just build another annex/loft to the already existing building.
That night, was slept on their roof, in the square-meterage of R’s boyfriend’s unfinished loft. We put up tents in the light of the moon and a coleman lantern/ a couple of headlamps. With all the noise, we probably woke up a couple of roosters in the yard, which then of course started crowing and subsequently woke up the a fore-mentioned dogs which started barking. Feeling a little bad, we quickly scurried to bed, already sticky from the humid-hot air.
The next day, I literally bolted out of the tent upon waking up from the heat of the sun, not to mention the rooster crows and dogs barking. I guess it was fair: we woke them up at night, they woke us up in the morning. Stumbling down the newly finished metal stairs, the first thing I could think of was: “I need a cold shower…”
Once everyone was up, we sauntered over to a tiny restaurant and had “breakfast” though was mostly lunch food: rice with beef and cabbage. For it being such a tropical country, I am surprised how little fruit variety they had. Paying $2.50 per person, it was quite a feast for the price. The next stop was a smoothie shop, but I guess we woke up too late, because she was out of water and thus couldn’t make us any smoothies – but we made up for it the next day: beet-peach-papaya-coconut water-and-flaxseed smoothie. I highly recommend the place. It was called Mandi’s Cafe and apparently is also recommended on tripadvisor.com.
By this time, the temperature had climbed to about 93 degrees F.. at which point we finally got ourselves together to take the main trip of the day: a boat ride and beach lounging on Isla Iguana, a white-beached island about a 20 minute speed-boat ride into the pacific ocean. It was absolutely beautiful, few people and besides the hundreds of hermit crabs, relatively calm. And I’m not exaggerating bout those hermit crabs, there were so many of them, especially towards the of the day, I could not believe my eyes. At some point I think i must have woken up on my stomach with one of these troublemakers staring at me from 3 inches away. Somehow they must have a sense that I woke up, because as soon as I opened my eyes, the crab scurried the hell out of my reach as soon as possible.
There was scuba diving to be had too: I saw a tortuga, giant crabs the size of two of my hands clamped together, arrow-fish, and many other schools of fish that swam by me just an arms length away. I really felt like i was part of the ocean.
At 5:30, we rode back to the mainland, and ate dinner right by the beach, having probably the most fresh seafood, fished straight out of the ocean a couple hours before: Calamari and Pargo. Even the full moon came out.
That night, we camped out on the beach about 1 km from this fishing post, building a bonfire to roast marshmallows, and listened to the ocean waves while chatting among ourselves. By about midnight, we conked out, the moonlight illuminating our way to the tents, a light breeze to cool the air.