BANANAS ARE GOOD FOR YOU, BANANA BEACH BAR RIO HACHO PANAMA
Apr 24 '02 (Updated May 09 '05)
The Bottom Line Hey any bar that almost never closes has to be a favourite of mine.
Opening a beach bar right next door to a large all inclusive resort and on the same day may sound like an exercise in economic suicide. Especially when you consider that the 600 room resort has 7 licensed restaurants and 7 all you can drink bars including a disco that stays open to the wee hours of the morning. Add to that the fact you're on an isolated stretch of coast line with no other neighbours aside from the resort except for a quiet tiny fishing village that already has it's own drinking establishment.
Don't tell that to Al the owner/operator of the Banana Beach Bar near the village of Farrillion on Panama's Pacific coast. The cheerful operator of this place will just smile at you and claim it's the best thing he ever did. The very presence of the Royal Decameron Costa Blanca Resort literally next door to his property ensures his success.
The Banana Beach Bar really isn't much to look at. A rather homey simple thatched roofed hut just off the beach with plenty of tables both under it and scattered about under the palm trees. During the days there's a couple of customers sipping a cold bottle of Atlas or Balboa and escaping from the suns rays under the shade.
Presiding over everything is Al. He owns the place and works the bar. On a quiet afternoon he can usually be found perched behind the bar with his nose buried in a book. That's how I found him. Most similar bars would have a TV blaring somewhere but not here. Al doesn't watch TV.
He will admit there is a portable set in the back. He will grudgingly drag it out if enough customers request it, say if there's something important to watch, usually a sporting event. The Banana Beach bar though differs from most places in Panama and the rest of the world though. There's no satellite dish poking up from the roof. You really don't need it reality is a lot more entertaining than the tube.
When the sun goes down the place fills up. Most of the party goers are surprisingly from the Decameron next door. A few locals also drift down the beach. Al's prices are low enough not to deter them, as is the way casual ambience of the place. Sure there's plenty of places to drink for free at the resort, but sometimes you need a change. I've always done this when I've stayed at such places and from the looks of thinks I'm not alone in this.
For many it's a chance to get away from the packaged aspect of an enclosed all inclusive. It also provides a chance to interact with some of the locals aside form the bartender and the chambermaid.
The place really gets going after 2:00 am when the Decameron's disco shuts down, the last bar in the resort to close. This is Al's secret he never closes. The Banana Beach Bar is my kind of drinking establishment open 24/7.
Well it's not always open. The week we were there was Holy Week in Panama and on the day before Good Friday I discovered this place. While we were chatting Al let it slip out he actually had to close at midnight. Panamanian law prohibits the sale of alcohol on Good Friday. Fortunately this rule didn't apply to us foreign heathens staying next door and the Decameron's seven bars remained open. Otherwise there would have been a minor revolt.
Al didn't seem to worried. He obeyed the strict letter of the law and shut down exactly at midnight. Then also obeying the law he opened up again exactly 24 hours later at midnight on Friday. There is no law in Panama prohibiting serving on the Saturday after Good Friday. Naturally when he opened up there was crowd of appreciative and thirsty customers waiting.
Al's got a good thing going here and he knows it. This area of Panama is now going through a massive development phase. The Decameron wasn't there a couple of years ago just the remnants of an old American air base. Since it's opening in 2000, the number of rooms has doubled from 300 to 600. There are plans for more development including a casino and two time share condo projects.
All of this represents new customers for Al and the Banana Beach Bar. Who knows with the added income he may expand and improve on the place. he might even break down and add a large screen TV and a dish. Don't hold your breath waiting for it though.
The place is easy to find. From the village of Farrillion walk south until you hit the beach and then turn left. Keep walking east, it's the last place before you hit the Decameron. Likewise if you're a guest at the Decameron just wander past the storage area for the catamarans and wind surfers at the western edge of the property. Either that or follow the party crowd from the disco when it finally shuts down and you'll find it.
It's also easy to spot from the main road that runs off of the Central American Highway. Look for the turn off for the Decameron. It's easy to see there's a thousand foot runway beside it. Follow it past the hotel to where it starts to go down the hill to the village. On the left you'll see an abandoned shell of a house. The only occupant of the house is a rather docile horse. To my knowledge he's not a nightly regular at the bar. That makes him in the minority in the area. Painted on the side of the house is a sign advertising the place. Drive down the rather steep hill and you're there.
If you ever find yourself in the area drop on for a cold one. Say hi to Al for me if you can get his nose out of the book for a second or two. Tell him you read about the place here. I told him I'd make him famous.
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Member: James Smith
Location: Toronto Ontario CANADA
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