Pedasi, we knew little about the place other than we heard it was a beautiful place to visit. We arrived in Pedasi on January 1, 2014 and were greeted by our hosts at their "casita" and were instantly at ease with our surroundings. One thing that does puzzle us about Panama in general is the lack of road signs. On our trip from Boquete, Panama to Pedasi, (about 6 hours travel) we did not see any directional signs indicating the direction to Pedasi. Since we were driving a rental car and unfamiliar with the area, we were hoping that there would be highway markers or road signs - there were none! Somehow we made it although we got sidetracked by detours in Las Tablas. (Due to New Years Day festivities) We have foiund that most people in Panama do not speak English (Why should they, it's not the language of Panama) so it was difficult getting directions other than "Pedasi" si si, with a hand or arm pointed in the general directions.

 

The road from Santiago (Pan American Highway) and the road south to Chitre, Las Tablas, was mostly a smooth new four lane highway with a posted speed limit of 80 kph (48 mph) which is puzzeling as it's such a beautiful road, contrast the Pan American Highway north of Santiago is a horrible road with a posted speed limit of 100 kph (60 mph) - go figure?

 

Pedasi is a sleepy little town with no major grocery stores, one gas station and numerous "hostels", motels, and restaurants. For us it took some getting used to as we compare things with where we come from - the U.S. Costs for nearly everything that we have found is significantly higher than what can be found in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite these disappointments, there is much beauty in Pedasi, but you may have to search for it, beaches, waterfalls etc. generally are not listed, even the "Panama Visitors Office" in Pedasi offered very little information, no one spoke English, all brochures were in Spanish and none listed any sites outside downtown Pedasi, so you're pretty much on your own to discover beaches or other sites.