Panama is almost embarrassingly good at fruit.
Walk into a local market and you can find mountains of bananas, pineapples, papayas, watermelons, mangoes, passion fruit, coconuts and things you've probably never seen before. In many parts of the country, fruit is cheaper, fresher and more interesting than what you would find in a Canadian or European supermarket.
But there is a funny reverse side to this.
Bring your favourite Western fruit shopping list to Panama and suddenly some very ordinary things become surprisingly difficult to find.
The country isn't short of fruit. It just has its own idea of what fruit should be.
Apples can be surprisingly expensive
Apples are available in Panama, particularly in larger supermarkets, but they are generally imported and can be considerably more expensive than tropical fruit.
You won't normally see roadside stands overflowing with locally grown apples.
The higher elevations around places such as Boquete have a much cooler climate, but Panama isn't an important apple producing country. Consequently, apples are something you buy rather than something you encounter growing everywhere.
Pears are another imported luxury
Pears are available, but like apples, they aren't a tropical staple.
You'll generally find them in larger supermarkets, often alongside other imported fruit. The selection can be limited, and prices can look rather ridiculous when you have just walked past a mountain of locally grown bananas.
A traveller may eventually ask the obvious question:
"Why am I paying this much for one pear when I can buy an entire bunch of bananas?"
Panama has no good answer.
Cherries are seriously seasonal and expensive
Fresh cherries are one of the fruits that can make you appreciate how spoiled northern supermarkets are.
When cherries are in season internationally, you may find them in Panama's higher-end supermarkets. But they're imported, expensive and definitely not an everyday fruit.
A giant bag of cherries can cost enough to make you reconsider your entire relationship with cherries.
Blueberries aren't exactly cheap
Blueberries are available, particularly in larger supermarkets and stores catering to international shoppers.
But they are generally imported and considerably more expensive than Panama's locally available tropical fruit.
You can buy a small plastic container of blueberries or spend the same money on a ridiculous amount of pineapple.
Panama is basically forcing you to make healthy financial decisions.
Raspberries and blackberries can be difficult
Imported berries such as raspberries and blackberries are another category where availability can be inconsistent.
You may find them in an upscale supermarket one week and not see them the next.
They're also delicate. Getting fresh berries from distant producing regions into a tropical country while keeping them attractive and edible is considerably more complicated than transporting bananas.
Strawberries exist, especially in the highlands
Strawberries are somewhat different.
They can be found in Panama, particularly associated with the cooler highland areas. Boquete and the surrounding highlands are famous for their cooler climate and agricultural production, and strawberries can be found much more easily there than you might expect.
But they're still not comparable to the enormous year round strawberry displays you might be accustomed to in Canada.
Peaches and nectarines are not everyday fruit
Peaches and nectarines are generally imported.
You'll find them in better supermarkets, but they're not something you should expect to see at every little tienda or vegetable stand.
If you're staying somewhere remote, don't build your entire breakfast plan around finding a perfect peach.
The mangoes will probably be laughing at you.
Plums can be hit and miss
Plums fall into the same general category.
They are available, but supply can vary, prices can be high and they aren't an important local crop.
In a major supermarket you have a reasonable chance.
In a tiny village grocery store?
Good luck, amigo.
Grapes are available, but they're imported
Grapes are common enough in Panama that they aren't particularly difficult to find in larger supermarkets.
But most of what you'll see is imported.
They're also considerably more expensive than many tropical fruits that grow locally.
This creates one of those wonderful Panama supermarket moments where you see a tiny package of grapes costing more than several huge pineapples.
Kiwi can require a supermarket expedition
Kiwis are available, but they are not a staple tropical fruit.
You'll usually have much better luck in larger supermarkets, especially in Panama City.
In smaller towns, availability can be inconsistent.
If you're making a fruit salad with kiwi, blueberries, strawberries and grapes, you're basically asking the Panamanian supply chain to assemble an international conference.
Figs are difficult
Fresh figs are not common in Panama.
You may encounter them in specialty or high-end supermarkets, but they're definitely not something to count on during ordinary grocery shopping.
Dried figs are much easier to find.
Apricots are another rarity
Fresh apricots are generally imported and can be difficult to find consistently.
They're simply not an important part of Panama's local fruit culture.
If you see them, buy them if you really want them.
There is no guarantee they'll be waiting for you next week.
And then Panama completely changes the game
The funny thing is that while Panama can make a simple apple seem exotic, it has an extraordinary collection of tropical fruit.
You can find mangoes, papayas, pineapples, bananas, plantains, coconuts, watermelon, passion fruit, guava, starfruit, dragon fruit, soursop and citrus, depending on the season and region.
And then you start encountering fruit with names that sound like something from a fantasy novel.
Soursop
Soursop, or guanábana, is one of the great tropical fruits of Panama.
It has a strange green spiky exterior and soft white flesh with a sweet, creamy, slightly acidic flavour.
It's commonly used in juices and smoothies.
Once you discover it, you may wonder why supermarkets in Canada don't have a giant refrigerated wall of it.
Then you remember the climate.
Passion fruit
Passion fruit is another fantastic Panamanian discovery.
Cut one open and you get an intensely aromatic, tart pulp filled with crunchy seeds.
It makes incredible juice, cocktails, desserts and breakfast additions.
And unlike imported berries, it actually makes sense in a tropical country.
Guava
Guava is another fruit that can completely change your idea of what fruit should taste like.
There are different varieties, and the flavour can range from sweet and fragrant to intensely tropical.
It's also used in juices, sweets, jams and desserts.
Starfruit
Starfruit, or carambola, grows well in tropical climates and is much easier to encounter in Panama than in Canada.
Slice it crosswise and it produces those distinctive little stars.
It's one of the fruits that makes a Panama breakfast look like someone got carried away with the decoration.
Dragon fruit
Dragon fruit has become increasingly popular and can be found in Panama, although availability and price vary.
It looks spectacular, particularly the varieties with vivid pink skin and white or magenta flesh.
The flavour is considerably more subtle than its appearance suggests.
The ultimate Panama fruit problem
The great irony is that visitors sometimes arrive in Panama worried about not finding their favourite fruits from home.
After a few weeks, they're eating things they've never heard of.
You may come looking for raspberries and leave obsessed with passion fruit.
You may complain about the price of apples while eating fresh pineapple every morning.
You may spend ten minutes looking for blueberries and then discover a fruit called guanábana that looks like it was designed by an alien.
And that's really the lesson of fruit shopping in Panama.
Don't shop as though you're in Canada with better weather.
Shop like you're in the tropics.
Go to the local market. Look at the strange things. Ask what they are. Try something you've never seen before.
Because if Panama has taught travellers anything, it's that sometimes the best fruit in the supermarket is the one you can't pronounce.