Paraiso hosts a weekly farmer's market every Friday from 9:00am-12:00pm. Though it's not quite as big or well-attended as its monthly Coronado counterpart, it's every bit as lovable. Pineapples (for $1), papaya, broccoli, and passion fruit are on sale every week. Fresh juices -- pineapple,…Read More

Paraiso hosts a weekly farmer's market every Friday from 9:00am-12:00pm. Though it's not quite as big or well-attended as its monthly Coronado counterpart, it's every bit as lovable.

Pineapples (for $1), papaya, broccoli, and passion fruit are on sale every week. Fresh juices -- pineapple, melon, and passion fruit -- are also on offer. We got two juices, a pineapple, and a head of broccoli for $4.50 last week. Brian, who is the chef at Paraiso, well known for his cheesecake, also sells slices of bundt cake.

There is usually one artist, and Melody of Melody's Garden -- the natural skin care products -- is also on site with her goods. You can find honey and homemade jams as well as homemade sausage. Our favorite is the spicy garlic pork sausage, though I heard a rumor that the man who makes it is headed back to his native country for a few months. The good news is that his sausage will still be available via some of his friends.

A newer vendor offers bread and muffins, which we have yet to try -- but the muffins are big and look delicious!

Rose, the owner of Paraiso, usually has live music during the market, which makes sitting down to breakfast at the restaurant an extra-special delight.Close

Orchid Conservatory- No cost The guide book said to follow the signs and that was exactly what we did. It wasn't hard at all to find the orchid conservatory. If…Read More

Orchid Conservatory- No cost

The guide book said to follow the signs and that was exactly what we did. It wasn't hard at all to find the orchid conservatory. If you like orchids or are into gardening this makes a nice little activity. There is one main building and then a green house filled with orchids which are cultivated on the premises. There are orchids of every size, shape and color, some of which I've never seen. The down side, at least on the day of our visit, was that the guide didn't speak English at all and we hadn't really spent much time learning gardening or orchid cultivating terms. We were able to ask a few questions and understand the answers, but I'm sure it would have been much more interesting if we spoke fluent Spanish. It took less than an hour to explore the main building and green house, making it a great option if you are looking to kill some time before a meal.

Las Pozas - cost- nothing

If you simply follow the signs, they will lead you to this enchanting cascading stream. High rock walls rise up on both sides, topped with trees so dense that the sunlight barely peaks through, glittering off the water in sporadic patches. Iridescent blue butterflies chase each other around as brightly colored birds chirp and flutter from tree to tree. The only sounds are the birds, the rushing water and occasionally the snort of a horse who has stopped by to get a drink. The whole place smells of rich earth mixed with the lingering faint scent of flowers. It was so secluded that we felt like we were the only people in all of El Valle, even though we passed a family swimming at the upper end of the stream. My thoughts ran wild as I imagined that this was certainly the home of at least one tribe of fairies. They probably flew to their hiding places and were watching us as we spent at least an hour just sitting by the water enjoying the peace. If I ever return to Las Pozas, I will bring a picnic lunch and a book and while away a whole afternoon in splendid tranquility. I think this spot is generally overlooked by tourists, all the better for you to visit.

El Valle Museum- cost- 50 cents

The El Valle Museum is located on the main street and is attached to the very large white church. Although it's fairly small, it is worth checking out as there are many interesting artifacts. The museum contains a good amount of information explaining how El Valle used to be a volcano, but eventually became a town. They have some impressive art work, as well as pottery and Panamanian clothing on display. Our visit was unique because as we browsed the displays, there was a worship service going on in the church and the sound of united voices floating gently into the museum, made our experience seem somehow spiritual. We are museum nerds so we spent a good hour looking about, if you are not that big into museums, it’s worth checking out, but don’t plan to be there all day. Also an important note, the museum is only open on Sunday.




Sunday Market- cost- free to look or whatever you want to spend

Although not as big as I imagined, the outdoor market on the main street in El Valle is a great place to pick up all of your souvenirs. It is open every day, but there are more vendors on Sunday which attracts droves of tour buses packed with Bermuda short wearing visitors. Something that I was very impressed by was the politeness of the vendors. No one pressures you or shouts at you or shoves things at you to buy. If you are interested in something, they are more than happy to help you, but we never felt any pressure to make a purchase, which might be one of the reasons we ended up buying almost all of our souvenirs there. They have just about anything you would want to purchase from food, to t-shirts, to native handicrafts. We bought two mola bags and a hand woven basket and later found out that we got a really good deal as the prices, for said items were much more expensive in the city.

Sipping bastidos at Don Peppie's- cost- $1.50 per bastidos

If you visit the market on Sunday, I highly recommend ordering a bastidos at Don Peppies (right next door to the market) and enjoying it at one of the outside tables. A bastidos is kind of like a fruit smoothie although there is less milk added and much more fresh fruit. You can get them in an array of fruit flavors, pineapple being my personal favorite. The outdoor seating is the perfect place to watch tourists scurrying back to their tour busses laden with purchases from the market (making snarky comments about them is optional). While we sat sipping on our yummy treats a small group of children began making a game of walking slowly around the building but suddenly running very fast by us as though we would suddenly snatch them up and carry them away as souvenirs. It was very amusing and we were all laughing and having fun playing the game.

Chorro El Macho- cost $2.50 per person

Located at the Canopy Adventure is the waterfall, Chorro El Macho. It was…. well a waterfall. I view all waterfalls as being very cool and this one was no exception, although I must admit that it was not overly impressive. The walk to the waterfall took about fifteen minutes with a well marked trail and a very neat but extremely safe suspension bridge. If you take the three hour hike at Canopy Adventures or are fortunate enough to ride the zip lines seeing the waterfall is included with those experiences. If those two activities don’t interest you, then you can pay the $2.50 to walk the trail and see the waterfall. I thought that Las Pozas was a much better sight, it was free and there was just something more magical about it.

Three sights that we didn’t visit were the petro glyphs, the square trees and El Nispero, which is the zoo. We had already seen plenty of petro glyphs in Nevada, I’d read that the square trees were just a tourist trap and I read several reviews saying the zoo was just sad, and I was afraid it might drive me to do something crazy like liberate all the animals and then end up in a Panamanian prison.




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The Albrook Bus Station in central Panama City was easy to navigate, even for non-Spanish speaking persons as ourselves. Just make sure you have a nickel to get through the stile! This particular Saturday morning only a handful of people occupied the seats. Traditional Panamanian…Read More

The Albrook Bus Station in central Panama City was easy to navigate, even for non-Spanish speaking persons as ourselves. Just make sure you have a nickel to get through the stile!

This particular Saturday morning only a handful of people occupied the seats. Traditional Panamanian music of guitar, accordion and vocals played over the speakers as we traveled along the InterAmericana Highway then scenic windy mountain roads. Plenty of people boarded throughout our three-hour trip, but the minivan never filled to capacity, which I cannot say about our return trip.

Sunday was market day, the busiest day of the week. And buses were filled BEYOND capacity.

Our hotel owner had dropped us at the last bus stop heading out of town, informing us that the PANAMA bus would take us to Panama City. At 2:30, the first such bus approached. I waved it down, but the driver simply smiled and waved as he whizzed by. At 3pm it happened again, and at 3:30pm, another. This time, it slowed and opened its doors, revealing a claustrophobic madness with no place to stand. Yet the couple beside us somehow squeezed inside.

Donna and I looked at each other. How did THEY fit on there? And how were WE going to cram on with all this STUFF? We glanced at our newly acquired palm baskets jammed with hammocks, rain sticks, mola dresses, jewelry, and Panamanian hats. Then scrambled to condense.

"There's no way we're going to make it," Donna said. "There's one bus left." She didn't have to remind me that our plane back to the States left early the next morning.

A local boy bicycling past overheard our dilemma. He spoke English! "Catch the SAN CARLOS bus to the highway, and transfer to a PANAMA bus headed to Panama City or you'll be stranded." He talked to an elderly lady beside us planning to do the same. Follow her! She nodded and smiled, correcting my mispronunciation autobus.

At 3:45pm, the bus arrived. Packed. But we merged ahead. I sat in the front wedged between the stick shift and two hefty men, my belongings piled high in my lap. And Donna was crammed somewhere in the back.

We swerved along the windy mountain roads and stopped frequently. What struck me odd was that the stops were unmarked. People simply stood on the road near their property to indicate they wanted a ride. And the driver seemed to know when and where they wanted off because no one ever yelled stop. Passengers exited quietly and politely, paying the man who operated the door for them.

One woman dropped her tiny baby as she climbed aboard. A chorus of sharply inhaled "Ahhhs" merged with the baby's cries, which were muffled by the mother's tight embrace as she settled into a seat.

My seatmate in the front changed often. One young gal who looked like a teen sat beside me with a baby balanced on one knee and a toddler on the other. I spoke with the girl and discovered that the baby was my own daughter's age, two-and-a-half. She was adorable with big brown eyes and a sweet little smile. I was instantly homesick. Bumping along, I winced when I watched her get airborne a few times and bruise against the dashboard. Such drastically different safety practices than back home. I wondered about the incidence of accidents. Was Panama one of those countries with high fatality rates resulting from bus travel? Right then, I did not want to know.

When we reached the highway, the old woman got our attention with "Gringo!" She ran across the street, yelling at a passing bus. Without her, we'd never have known how to get them to stop.

Once in Panama City, Donna and I prepared to exit after we crossed the Bridge of Americas, much to the horror of our elderly lady friend. In fact, the whole bus joined in shaking heads or fingers, warning us NOT to exit here. We tried to explain that it was okay, we were saving 15 minutes by taking a taxi to our hotel. Collectively, they continued, "No, no, no!" Their concern was touching as we two gringos stepped into the projects as the bus sped away.