In some ways Casco Viejo is a real dump. There is lots of garbage, many of the buildings are entirely rundown and vacant, and there are countless stray cats and prostitutes. On the other hand, it has lots of colour, history, and those buildings that have been restored are really beautiful. It's been a pleasure walking around it all day and getting to know each of the blocks.
We spent most of our day exploring Casco Viejo and going on a bit of an excursion to Panama Viejo, the original old city that the British privateer Henry Morgan sacked in the 17th century. The success of this raid proved that Panama Viejo's location was too vulnerable, so the city was reestablished on the peninsula that is now Casco Viejo.
Because it is Good Friday we expected the visitor's centre to be closed, but we were told the ruins of Panama Viejo would still be accessible, and for free. So we went on a trek out of Casco and past the large seafood market to Cinta Costera, an oceanfront recreation area between Casco and the downtown of modern Panama. We were able to catch a city bus there. The bus is only 25 cents, but technically requires a transit card to ride. A lady was nice enough to use her card for us, and we reimbursed her with a quarter each.
The ride was an excellent tour of downtown, as we passed right through the city. The number of tall buildings, both office towers and condos, is amazing. Someone compared the skyline to Dubai and I can see why. I've also heard Panama described as the "Miami of Central America"--but I think it might have an even more crowded skyline than Miami.
We arrived at the ruins site without difficulty, and indeed the visitor's centre was closed. Unfortunately, although we could see ruins, they were thoroughly fenced in, with security guards outside. So this meant our trek was a failure in terms of its objective, although we did, I suppose, still get to see ruins of the original city.
This is the best photo I got (you can see part the wall and some of a bridge), although this was actually outside of the compound while we were waiting for the bus back.
But really we weren't too disappointed, because the getting there had been an adventure in itself.
On the way back there was no nice lady to swipe her card for us (in fact there was only one other person on the bus at all), but the driver smiled, waved us by, and refused our offers of quarters. I had read that Panamians are friendly, and it really seems to be true, maybe friendlier than anywhere else I've traveled where I don't speak the language.
We spent most of our day exploring Casco Viejo and going on a bit of an excursion to Panama Viejo, the original old city that the British privateer Henry Morgan sacked in the 17th century. The success of this raid proved that Panama Viejo's location was too vulnerable, so the city was reestablished on the peninsula that is now Casco Viejo.
Because it is Good Friday we expected the visitor's centre to be closed, but we were told the ruins of Panama Viejo would still be accessible, and for free. So we went on a trek out of Casco and past the large seafood market to Cinta Costera, an oceanfront recreation area between Casco and the downtown of modern Panama. We were able to catch a city bus there. The bus is only 25 cents, but technically requires a transit card to ride. A lady was nice enough to use her card for us, and we reimbursed her with a quarter each.
The ride was an excellent tour of downtown, as we passed right through the city. The number of tall buildings, both office towers and condos, is amazing. Someone compared the skyline to Dubai and I can see why. I've also heard Panama described as the "Miami of Central America"--but I think it might have an even more crowded skyline than Miami.
We arrived at the ruins site without difficulty, and indeed the visitor's centre was closed. Unfortunately, although we could see ruins, they were thoroughly fenced in, with security guards outside. So this meant our trek was a failure in terms of its objective, although we did, I suppose, still get to see ruins of the original city.
This is the best photo I got (you can see part the wall and some of a bridge), although this was actually outside of the compound while we were waiting for the bus back.
But really we weren't too disappointed, because the getting there had been an adventure in itself.
On the way back there was no nice lady to swipe her card for us (in fact there was only one other person on the bus at all), but the driver smiled, waved us by, and refused our offers of quarters. I had read that Panamians are friendly, and it really seems to be true, maybe friendlier than anywhere else I've traveled where I don't speak the language.
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