The Great El Valle Challenge Is On
“Please, Kathleen, you are doing a disservice to your readers. I humbly challenge you to get from any point in Panama City to El Valle in 1.5 hours. It cannot be done…” writes a reader in response to the letter to the editor we published earlier this week from Bob S. in Panama. Bob S. himself replied, as well, a bit less “humbly”…
So we’ve been conducting an informal poll, asking friends and people we speak with here in Panama City, with no set-up and no comment to color their response:
“How long does it take to get from Panama City to El Valle?”
One friend replied, “It’s about an hour to the turnoff, then 30, maybe 35 minutes up the mountain…”
Another friend: “El Valle? I have a house there…I drive out every weekend. It’s an hour-and-a-half…I’d say a leisurely hour-and-a-half. Why do you ask?”
We ask because we don’t want to mislead or misrepresent. I’ve been to El Valle; it took me an hour-and-a-half to get there. Lief has been there, separately. Took him an hour-and-a-half. We can’t find anyone whose experience has been otherwise…other than the two readers who’ve written in.
So, dear readers, we accept your humble challenge, in the spirit it was intended. We’re making plans for a weekend in El Valle. We’ll set the stopwatch as we pull out of Panama City, and we’ll report back on the duration of the drive.
It gives us a good excuse to re-visit one of our favorite spots in this country.
Seems Bob doesn’t like El Valle…or doesn’t like us liking El Valle…we’re not sure…
Kathleen Peddicord
