When you move to Panamà City, the ex-pat groups (Facebook, WhatsApp, others) are very useful in making recommendations on where to go, things to do, etc. However, the most interesting finds haven’t been found on social media. Case in point: this morning, Mr. Relative Outlier says to me, “I’m going to take you to the biggest chinito in Panamà.”

A chinito here in Panama is a term that’s used for a local grocery/convenience store that is typically run by Chinese families (I won’t call them immigrants, since in Panamà, one in five people here has a Chinese grandparent). When we first arrived in country and were serving out the pet quarantine needed for the dogs, the aparthotel we stayed in had a chinito in the building. There’s one a five minute walk from our apartment. They’re just about on every block.

A chinito is like a 7-11, but with a much wider range of merchandise. The one close to our aparthotel had produce, frozen food, dog food (which we made more than one quick run for), as well as freshly made empanadas. They also had a jewelry section and electronics store. All in the same footprint as a typical 7-11.

So I was intrigued by the idea of a large chinito. So we fired up Google Maps and headed to China Depot.

It turns out that chinito was a bit of a misnomer. It’s really a Temu or Shein warehouse, though a little unassuming on the outside. The one thing it did have in common with a chinito, though, was that there was no air conditioning. Therefore, it’s best to go in the morning!

Inside, there are rows and rows and rows of merchandise. They’re somewhat roughly organized, but not totally. Every aisle is like a little treasure hunt. You’ll find lava lamps in the same aisle as cutting boards, for instance. Or LED fireplaces in the same aisle as the largest pots I’ve ever seen, like this picture.

We ended up getting an eclectic mix of items here, including jumper cables, LED dog collars, and measuring cups. The story would end there, but then we found the section that will guarantee we’ll go back.

Christmas! I LOVE Christmas. Some of the hardest choices I had to make when moving was leaving so many of our Christmas ornaments behind (we still brought a tote full of my favourites). This store has just about everything, including a little Christmas village.

There are many things that I didn’t know I wanted until I saw them, such as a LED lit butterfly that flapped its wings, and these lightposts that have snowglobes in the lamps.

It was wonderful! One of my favourite Christmas decorations are nutcrackers (I may or may not have a couple dozen nutcracker tree ornaments), so it will then not surprise anyone that these came home with me.

They have Christmas trees, all the ornaments you can think of, garlands, wreaths, and so much more.

As we got in the car, my husband said, “We’re coming back for Christmas, aren’t we?”.

Why, yes, yes we are.