It was a Sunday and I hadn’t slept well the night before so my stomach was upset. My friend Cef was scheduled to arrive at 8:00a.m. and he arrived on time. We were heading to a place called Chumico to visit his friend Raphael who has a wonderful little place by a private beach on Panama’s Pacific Coast. A trip to the beach was a welcome respite: I needed some sun and sea air to put a little life back into me after three-weeks of being trapped in fumey Panama City. The neighborhood where I live is located almost directly below the Bridge of Americas, the bridge that connects South America and North America and spans across the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, so driving to the beach is a quick ride: about an hour to the west.

After passing the suburban towns of western Panama, the excellent two-lane highway weaves up through the hills of La Compana and down into the mangrove swamps that end where the beaches begin. When you arrive in Panama City if you look to the west beyond the Bridge of Americas you will see some high mountains; this is La Compana National Park; it’s a great place to go hiking: the hills are cool and the air fresh and it is only 30 minutes from the city. This is a good place to see cool orchids and the famous golden frogs of Panama.

The first beach you arrive to after crossing over the mountains of La Compana is Punta Chame.

John Wayne liked Panama and bought the island of Taborcillo as a retreat. The island has a little town with a sheriff station as a postal office and the theme of the island is American Cowboy: interesting for a tropical island. If you spend enough time in Panama you hear stories about John Wayne: he liked to drink with General Omar Torrijos, he was involved in a shrimp business, but what he did on his island seems to lie in shadows and few people can tell you much about John Wayne in Panama.

The beach is located in front of the property and can be reached by walking down a steep flight of steps. The beach is open and very private with few people: during the visit I saw only four or five people on the beach. There are few houses along this stretch of coastline and the few houses that do exist are set far back from the coast. Rapheal's property stretches from the cliffs above to the beach below and at the bottom of his property, near the ocean, there is a small woods that at one time was located next to a river that ran along the back of the beach.

The house has a beautiful view of the ocean and the back terrace has been done with stone and tile. The terrace is large and the backyard which stretches out from the terrace could be used to extend the house to the sea cliffs.

Not far from Chumico there is a large modern supermarket, a couple of nightclubs, golf course and other wonderful beaches to explore.