Forsaken by tourists yet superbly scenic, the Azuero interior is dominated by a broad mountain chain that runs clear down the peninsula. Twistier than a snake, the narrow highway through central Azuero steals away the hours as you coil along mountain ridges and curl through valleys whose traditional villages resound to the clip-clop of hooves.

Sleepy Ocu is known for its sombreros ocuenos – the village’s trademark straw hats trimmed in black and woven solely by women. Local seamstresses also make polleras with a unique point of the cross embroidered stitch. San Jose, 7 kilometres west of Ocu, is another epicentre of ocueno traditions. Here, Artesania Ocuena, a local women’s cooperative, takes pride in its intricate hand-stitched linens.

Occupying a fertile plain, quaint Pese, 24 kilometres east of Ocu, is surrounded by fields of sugarcane. Facing the village church is the Destilera Seco Herrerano, founded in 1936 and producing Seco Herrerano cane spirit, Panama’s national drink.