Tuesday we left Pedasi and headed up the Azuero Peninsula, west to Santiago, and then south again to Santa Catalina. It was a long drive, but on good roads through absolutely beautiful countryside.
We head out into the beautiful green countryside.
Some young men on horses are taking their cows somewhere.
More beautiful green fields. Cows seems to be the main thing in this area, along with corn, rice, and sugar cane in some areas.
Speaking of cows, here’s a very bug guy!
Here’s another typical Panamanian cow. I love the droopy ears and soft eyes.
Kids, farm equipment, man with machete… you never know what you are going to see on the road. We saw lots of men walking and I don’t think we ever saw one without a machete.
There are lots and lots of cows in this area!
We also saw a lot of these by the road, which I imagine are milk cans.
I believe this is Chitre. Las Tablas is another little town, and I think we were too busy getting lost to take photos in Santiago, so I’m calling this Chitre.
We saw a lot of this stands selling the traditional Panamanian hats. We also saw a lot of them on the rural men we passed on the roads.
Interesting statues above the road.
Is there life without KFC? But, this chicken bucket looks pretty interesting against those spectacular clouds!
Our impressions of Chitre from just driving through are very positive and we would like to go back and spend some time there. Maybe it would be a good place for us to live at some point? It looks like a big enough city for us, and the closer proximity to Panama City is also a plus.
We passed this church which looks beautiful and probably also very old.
Another street in Chitre, interesting until we discovered we were a bit lost and on the wrong street.
A city park which would look much better if I’d managed to get a decent photo of it.
Moving on again, and as you can see the roads are excellent.
It started to rain and the camera only wanted to focus on the rain drops, so there was no more photographs for a while.
As we headed south from Santiago the rain started to clear. I believe this is a field of sugar cane.
Between the rainy spots, the skies continue to be spectacular!
As we had south towards Santa Catalina, the terrain starts becoming more hilly, and the skies continue to be very interesting.
Raindrops, beautiful skies, and hill tops.
The land seems to get more beautiful at every turn. OK, I know I said that before but this is really lovely too.
The farther we go the more the road twists and turns up and down the hills. I don’t think any photograph can really do justice to the beauty of this area.
Hmm, festivities somewhere!
More rain, more beautiful scenery.
We’re getting closer to Santa Catalina and finally catch a glimpse of the ocean!
We made it to Santa Catalina just before dark, and just before the rains moved in, and just before it turned totally dark and the power went out! It isn’t exactly dinner by candle light, but tuna salad by flashlight isn’t so bad either.
I’m starting to get caught up! It looks like I have a folder of photos from Santa Catalina, and then it’s on to the photos of the parade from yesterday.
The Panama Adventure 
When I was doing my early exploration trips to Panama I spent 10 days with Chitre as my base. I quite liked the area though I think it wouldn’t take me long to go nuts in Pedasi. Chitre/Los Santos would be my second choice of a place to live here in the Republic, but David/Chiriqui has it beat when it comes to the services that make life a little easier.
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Really! We’ll have to talk further one of these days. We like it here a lot but who knows. We might want a change or circumstances may change sometime. Pedasi is great to visit but it’s too small for me to live. I’m too much of a city gal.
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I lived in Panama for 30 years, and you have already seen more of it than I ever did.
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I read a bit of your blog. What interesting experiences you had! You were busy working though and doing a lot of good things. We’re retired and free to run around in a way we never could before, so we’re taking advantage of it. Hopefully you can come back here sometime and see more of this beautiful country!
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I hope so too!
Thanks for your note
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We’ve been talking lately about how life would have been much simpler if we had chosen Chitre over Pedasi. Chitre was our second choice. We love our house and where we are but sometimes living closer to services and shopping would be much easier. 🙂
There is also a ring road around Chitre that would have cut some time off for you and helped you to avoid those twisty roads around the cathedral. There is an ocean view from one of the hills that is very pretty.
Looking forward to the rest of your pictures!
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We plan to spend more time in Chitre to learn more about the area. Who knows what we will do in the future but it’s always nice to have options. It looks like a big enough city to keep us city folks happy. And, if we were in Chitre it would be easy to visit Pedasi anytime we wanted 😀
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Or for us to come for lunch when we’re doing errands. 🙂
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Yes 😀
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Chitre/Los Santos. This is really fun to read. I always run to my map. Thanks guys. David, Charleston S.C. future ex pat.
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We’ve been to Charleston. What a lovely city!
Are you planning to move to Panama?
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