Penonome, Panama - A Nice Small Busy Town

Town Plaza, Penonome, Panama

We stayed in the town of Penonome for almost a week when we were in Panama.

The municipal government building in Penonome, Panama 

On the second last day of our stay, we did a walkabout and visited some famous landmarks in Penonome.

Though not a big town with a population of 15, 841 ( year 2000), it has currently around 20,000 inhabitants.  We passed by a university and a college while we toured the place.

Note: Figure from Wikipedia
















According to Wikipedia, the town of Penonome is home to many descendants of Turkish, Chinese and Arab immigrants. However, we did not see any mosque or Buddhist temple in the town.

Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome, Penonome, Panama

We saw a number of catholic churches. The biggest and the most beautiful one we saw was the Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome.

The interior of the Cathedral was colorfully decorated with the flags of Panama. ( I rarely saw a church exhibiting its patriotism by draping itself with so many national flags.)



Apparently, there are also other smaller places of worship. One afternoon, we walked by a strip mall and were invited into a place of worship right there at the mall.

Penonome's Town Central Plaza

Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome is located in the town's central plaza.

Right across from the cathedral is a small park.

We saw a number of beautifully painted park benches where visitors could sit and rest their tired feet.

Every bench has been dedicated to remember a special person with his/ her name written on it.















Since it was our last couple of days in Panama, we wanted to do some shopping and went to the two shopping streets in town.

A hardware store in the shopping area

We visited Avenida Juan Demostenes Arosemena, a street lined with many shops selling clothes, hardware, household items and a local farmers' market selling fresh produces.

Another shopping street is the Inter-American Highway along the edge of town.

We shopped at the Super Centro Cocle, a well known local supermarket with a good selection of a variety of  grocery, local food and household items. We bought some coffee and local snacks to take home for our families and friends.

We have learned that Panama produces excellent coffee and some have garnered top awards!

Super Centro Cocle, a well known local supermarket 

What surprised me was that the cashiers working at this supermarket were allowed to sit while performing their duties.

We don't even have that in Toronto!

Canadians pride ourselves living in one of the advanced countries in the world. We have a lot to learn from other countries. 

Though Penonome is a small town, it offers many services to its residents including many shops, universities, a hospital, pharmacy stores etc.

This pharmacy is located right next to the Super Centre Cocle  supermarket, with a bakery next to it as well.

A paying station where residents can pay all their bills.

We passed by a paying station where customers can pay for all their bills. Not bad at all.

This was my third time visiting Penonome. I enjoyed my visit every time and my husband  really enjoyed his first visit to this small nice town in Panama.

R.T.

Penonome

Panama