You have to admit, there’s something magical about being first.  I’m not talking about finishing first, as a type A first-class sore loser, that’s understood.  I’m talking about doing something, finding something or arriving somewhere before anybody else.  Whether it’s a rock band you knew before they got big or enjoying a struggling chef’s food before he got all Food Network on ya, the delicious feeling of staking your claim before the herd arrived is difficult to describe.

That’s just one of the reasons I love Pedasi, the sleepy little fishing town at the Southeast tip of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula.  I can’t even begin to claim that I’m first, a whole string of investors and pioneers got there long before me.  But for those expats who have ventured into this one-horse town and are attempting to actually DO something, there’s a genuine sense of excitement that we could perhaps be part of something special.

What’s special about Pedasi?  Well, on the surface, not a whole lot.  It’s a quiet little village with a small population.  It isn’t right ON the beach.  It’s relatively flat.  It doesn’t have much going on in terms of tourism attractions.  But it does have two of the major components required to become a major attraction: fishing & surfing.

Besides the fact that I foresee tourists flocking to the region within the decade, Pedasi is just a simply neat place to BE.  People are incredibly friendly.  Life is slow and extremely affordable (fifty cent beer!) and the weather is amazing.  I’m from a tiny town in Pennsylvania, so the slow pace and kind neighbors remind me a lot of my childhood.

These days, while I struggle to complete what should be the first mid-class hotel in downtown Pedasi, I spend mostly weekends there.  But each time I return to the bustle of Panama City, I find myself wishing I could spend more and more time there.  Perhaps I’m returning to my roots or maybe I’m just ready for a slower way of life.  Any way I look at it, I’m just glad I found Pedasi when I did.

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Filed under: Country Guide on February 26th, 2008