Discovering Los Santos

PANAMA. Looking for a weekend getaway? Tired of the familiar outings? Well, Budget Travel’s David Kaufman recently set out to prove what many locals already knew? that there’s more to discover in Panama than the iconic canal, the coastal capital city, and the tourist-packed Bocas del Toro.

According to Kaufman, in an article published on Cnn.com/travel, there's a more secret and equally spectacular side to the country about a five-hour drive west from Panama City: the Pacific coast region of Los Santos.

Here, he says, rolling farmlands and stands of mahogany and cocobolo trees hug an azure coastline, luring surfers, nature buffs, and, increasingly, travelers and second-home owners from all over.

Los Santos is blessed with low-key boutique hotels, having managed to stay free of resorts. Here’s Kaufman’s take on local boutique hotels to stay at:

The most stylish is the seven-room Villa Camilla (Info.: 232-0171, , from $250), just outside the fishing village of Pedasí. The red-tiled hideaway, located on an 800-acre parcel of the Azuero Peninsula, started out as a private escape for French interior designer Gilles St.-Gilles and his wife, Camilla.

In 2005, the couple opened their place as a hotel, and last fall they added 20 new seaside duplex lofts that come with full-size kitchens, extra guest beds, and mosaic-tile flooring.

An in-house stable is ready for shoreline horseback rides, and you can sign up for snorkeling trips to nearby Isla Cañas.

The Casita Margarita (Info.: 995-2898, from $99) is also a good bet, including five rooms with locally crafted cocobolo furniture and a wraparound veranda overlooking Pedasí's main street.

Perhaps best of all, it's within walking distance of local hangout Mano Surf Community, a pro shop that does double duty as a café and juice bar, and El Gringo Dusek (995-2869), a no-frills, alfresco cantina run by retired US Navy officer Joseph Dusek, which serves the best barbecue ribs in Los Santos.

Of course, beyond the culinary surf and turf, the region's big draw is its blissfully empty beaches: Some of Panama's most scenic -- Los Destiladeros, Modroño, and the black-sand Playa Venao with its eight-foot breaks -- are short drives from Pedasí.

Closer to home, Pedasí's El Arenal is a good launchpad for day trips to Iguana Island. (Fishermen stationed by the pier rent their motorboats, captain included, for less than $50 round trip.)

Sign up for an Iguana Island Foundation (236-8117) snorkeling and hiking tour (full day tour $90); you might just get a good look at some iguana hatchlings.

To finish off on a sweet note, Kaufman recommends Dulceria Yely (995-2205), a bakery in a bungalow, as a must stop for its home-style sweets, like almond queques (pound cakes) and creamy chicheme, a shake blended from sweetened milk, fresh corn, and crushed vanilla beans.