POLICE CHECK! Live. Explore the Golden Frog Inn and grounds with us. Then drive into El Valle de Anton where we get pulled over by the police. THAT you should be aware of.
I live in El Valle, and I can easily name 15 restaurants, 3 of which are incredibly up-scale!!! They are a few streets from the main drag, but right there in EV.
Thanks for writing Alf. A couple people have mentioned there's more restaurants than we saw. We rode around quite a bit but just didn't see others except those in or attached to a hotel type place, or small places that were closed. Living there like you, makes sense that you would know of more of them.
Hello! Thank you for the great video. The police officer was asking you when you entered the country, most of the time that will be their question. Keep up the great work.
I sort of figured that when she asked for our passport (and the date stamp). Our lawyer had explained that this would be the main thing they'd care about for rental cars.
We have attained our permanent resident Visas for Panama and have traveled there a half dozen times in the last couple of years. We traveled to El Valle ⛰and stayed at the Golden Frog Inn as well back in December. We liked EV the best out of all the towns we have visited in Panama so far! We can't wait to return and enjoyed your video!. We are subscribed now 👌
Thank you so much for subscribing and congrats on the visas! EV was beautiful. I'm sure you'll love it. Especially now OUT of rainy season. Choosing that perfect place is so personal and different for everyone. Fabulous that you found yours.
Great job on your videos! We live in Nueva Gorgona and visit El Valle quite often. Fortunately, the downtown streets have recently been resurfaced, and YES, there are quite a few restaurants there and some are gastronomically impressive. To those interested in living in the mountains of Panama (Volcan, Boquete, El Valle & Altos del Maria), just know that they receive a LOT of rain... even in the dry season. 🙂
Hey John. Good news on the resurfacing 😊 We’re heading to Coronado today. If you will, please recommend the restaurants you think are good. Especially if they offer gluten free options. Thanks.
@@laptopseniors I would have dinner at Cafe Med and lunch at either Gold Coast Brewery (next door) or The Bench. My wife is gluten intolerant, but always finds something on the menu.
Wow. Thanks so much for your encouragement. Pat puts a lot of work into each video. There are many more in the works. We truly appreciate your subscription :)
I've been considering retiring in Panama and one of those locations is El Valle de Antón and your video came up on my feed. I enjoyed the video and actually tried to follow your route on Google maps. One comment that caught my attention is that "there are only 5 restaurants in El Valle de Antón ' . Humm a quick check on tripadvisor shows a few more then that. Are you only referring to restaurants that appeal to expats? Thanks for the video. Mike
Hi Mike....Thanks for watching. I probably shouldn't have worded it that way. There's only about 5 on or just off the Main Street in the town that we could see. Some are certainly in the area (I googled for restaurants too) and if you lived there they would be available. But I have no idea of their size, quality, etc. Some were in hotels or BnB's. Some I'm sure are stand alone but we just didn't see any and we rode around a lot. My sense is that most people don't do a lot of restaurant visits. And also, and I'm just guessing on this, but if the sort of typical decent size restaurants in town (those 5ish) are of the food quality/taste/etc that they are, then I'd guess that the others not in the city aren't much better. But maybe I'm completely wrong. From what we saw and tried, the restaurants in town are good to fill up on, but weren't 'tasty' if that makes any sense. A hot meal to me is a sandwich that someone's spilled cigarette ashes on. (I've been saving that joke for decades to use). So....this is coming from someone who's not picky at all what we eat. Lastly, Anton was a beautiful area. Stunning, and if you like really small towns and a rural feel, it'd be great. If you're a city person, it might not appeal on the long haul. You really have to see it to make that decision.
Hey Mike, We appreciate you watching with such detailed interest. We're returning to Panama later this month (February) to do more exploring and more videos, so please subscribe if you haven't yet :). I see Pat wrote from his other RU-vid channel and hope that didn't confuse you.
@@laptopseniors Hi, ya I'll subscribe. I'm interested I the "arco seco" área as well..I think that's Coronado but I'm not 100% up on my Panama geography. I do know it's on the Pacific side. I've been to Panama City a couple times on a stop over to Argentina. I like the Bio diversity of Panama and the Pensiado visa program. I have driven a rental car in Costa Rica and i assume the roads are similar in Panama. I was impressed with your wife's Spanish during the police stop! I actually understood her. Good luck on your next trip to Panama.
@@mikecandu3747 Hey, Mike, we appreciate your subscription 👏. It's Vivi again. Thanks for the language compliment. I try to practice Spanish when given the opportunity but it's baby steps for me, LOL. So glad I can be understood. We have talked about doing a video on the pensioned program. Perhaps we'll get to it when there. I can't say that I know where Arco Seco is either. We will be driving all along the coast with stops a the way, so we will watch for it. PS we love Buenos Aires too.
@@laptopseniors arco seco translates to Dry Arc. It's an area on. The Pacific Coast that's much dryer then the rest of the country. I'm not a big fan of humidity.
If you are looking for "Miami Style" Restaurants in El Valle, don't go there!!!!! But there are more than 15 Restaurants in the Town!!!!...This is Not a Very Tourist Town, it is a "Weekend Place" for Panamanians who have their nice big houses there. If you want about 200 Restaurants maybe more, stay in Panama City.
I think the videos we watched prior to our visit gave us a different expectation. This is why we try to show a real view of the places we visit. We were aware of the restaurants scattered about on residential streets but we mainly presented the town. No offence intended.
Did you find these rooms moldy or musty? And in general did you find homes to rent or buy or moldy, since it appears to be incredibly there? Thanks you. MM
No mold or must smell Michael. And we were in the middle of rainy season. However, we've heard from many long term expats that mold is a really big deal and you have to keep up with it. Preventable, but work. Some places probably than others. For instance, we have a condo in Florida. If we're not there, the A/C has to be running to keep the moisture down. So basically it's on year round. Thirteen years having it and no mold ever. A/C gets it done. In places like Boquete where people don't need or have A/C or even heat, dehumidifier's are a must.
Yes, thanks Ellen. I realized that a few weeks ago when I saw that we didn't take the faster road from Coronado but instead took the other sort of back way there from Las Lajas. And of course we were in a blinding rain storm going really slow. We should have taken Hwy 71 as you likely do. Unfortunately, you can't alter RU-vid videos after they're up.
I'm at The Golden Frog Inn now. I disagree with your claim that it will take 2 hours from Coronado. I did the drive myself a few days before I came to stay here and it was about 1 hour. then when I took the bus to come for my stay it was probably 1.5 hours even with all the stops it makes along the way. its really not a difficult drive. on the day I came up in my own car I decided to go back in the other direction where it comes out to the highway at Anton and the first 15 minutes going that way out of El Valle were absolutely insane with 180 degree hairpin turns and extremely steep. the other thing I disagree with is that its complicated to find this place. no, it isnt. without even trying I found the sign on the main road and followed the arrows the rest of the way. its like a 5 minute drive from the main drag. I dont know if its changed from when you were here or you just werent aware. they have both a buffet and a menu for breakfast and you are welcome to get food from both all for the free price included with your stay. the menu meals are quite small and sparse so I was glad to be able to complement it with items from the buffet. anyways, aside from that - thanks for this video. I have watched it about a dozen times now and was a big part of my inspiration to come and stay here and even visit Panama as well!
Hi. You're right about the 2 hours. We took the first back roads way from Coronado in a blinding rain storm and it literally took us that long. Then, later we found out about the other way there that's much faster as you describe. But, the video was already done. They didn't have any buffet for breakfast then. Perhaps because we were out of season (rainy season)? Dozen times! Yikes. Thanks.
