The Fishing Village - Pedasi, Panama

The Fishing Village - Pedasi, Panama

     If I say “fishing village”, what comes to mind? Docks, marinas, a harbormaster? Nets, fish markets, shrimp boats, a la Forrest Gump? That’s what you get if you Google© “fishing village”, and click on images. Some are more sophisticated than others, but the idea is the same.

    We had heard that Pedasi, Panama was a fishing village, so naturally, we expected something that would come reasonably close to our Hollywood-esque concept. We arrived in the afternoon, and checked into a Bed and Breakfast. 

Since it was already so late, we opted to check out the beach & the fishing the next day, and went to the main part of town. As serendipity would have it, there was a wedding that evening at the church on the square, complete with sleepy flower girl, beautiful bride, and rowdy guests with fireworks. There were a couple of little shops open, and a few people selling trinkets and jewelry out on the street.

     Bright and early the next morning, off we went to the “playa” to see the fishermen and soak up the local color. The beach at Pedasi is lovely, with its warm sand and gentle surf. 

There was a parking area, a couple of small structures, but, lo and behold, no docks, no marina, no big “Deadliest Catch” boats. There is an ocean, there are little boats that you might be leery of in a calm pond, and there are guys that take those boats out into the deep blue sea and come back with fish. 

It’s as simple as that. We hung around for quite a while that day. The sea was actually very choppy, but nonetheless, there were brave souls taking tours in those same small boats, going out to an island barely visible on the horizon. 

A fishing boat came in while we were there, and the guys brought the boat up onto the shore, unloaded their catch, (still alive, by the way), and ran it up the beach to a waiting pickup truck. It gets thrown into a cooler full of ice, and they take off. This all happens within a couple of minutes. You could time it with a stopwatch just for fun. During the fish handoff, the sea gulls turn into creatures from a Hitchcock movie, swooping down and diving. It was very entertaining.

   Overall, Pedasi is a sleepy little town, quiet and restful, and we enjoyed our time there immensely. For such a small place, there were plenty of restaurants to choose from. My strong recommendation is the Ristorante Pasta e Vino, which is a tiny place but oh, so delicious and reasonably priced.

     So next time you think you need a lot of gear and trappings for something you are undertaking, remember the fishermen at Pedasi, and don’t go overboard. (I know, that was really bad.)