Panama Scouting - Day 5 - Panama City Old Town
Today was a quiet, happy day; we met a woman from Quebec and two women from Georgia who are very glad to be here and out of the cold at home. The woman from Quebec also melts in this heat and so she is using the afternoons to catch up on her reading, moving between the lobby and their room, as we do, for variety, and to stay out of the way of Housekeeping.
We did not find a birding tour in the city, but we got the contact info for a sanctuary near Boquete called Birds In Paradise, so we will try to visit there when we are in the mountains.
Today, I want to show you some photos of Panama's Old Town, Casco Viejo - a sharp contrast with yesterday's view of the very modern downtown core.
Casco Viejo is the old town of Panama City, moved to its current location in 1510 after the Atlantic coast location became too vulnerable to pirates. The new city was walled, and that kept the pirates away for over 150 years, but in 1671, Captain Henry Morgan (aka Black Beard, of Captain Morgan's rum fame) with the approval of Britain's government (no longer a Welsh pirate, now that he had the approval of the British government) brought 36 ships and 2200 buccaneers to sack and burn Panama City and Casco Viejo.
Casco Viejo has Spanish, French, English, and Caribbean influences in the architecture, much different than the Spanish and Portuguese of Northern Brazil or Antigua. Over time, the buildings had fallen into disrepair and been taken over by squatters and gangs. Starting in 2000, as Panama took over the Canal Zone from the USA and initiated a lot of building and refurbishment, Casco Viejo was designated a World Heritage site, and property owners started to see tourism and interest in renovating the buildings.
There are many buildings for sale, many boarded up and awaiting approval or funding for refurbishment, and some buildings still have squatters. The costs of renovations are high, but the results are amazing.
The best restaurants in town are said to be in Casco Viejo - we didn't make it back tonight, so we are planning on dinner in the Old Town tomorrow.
On Thursday, we move hotels to one near the airport and undertake the estimated 4 hour wait for the negative Covid test required within 24 hours of the Relocation Tour we start on Friday morning. Then we will spend 4 days winding up the Pacific coast and into the mountains before arriving in Boquete on Tuesday.
Boquete has its Festival of Flowers going on now, and sits at an elevation of 4000 feet, so the temperature range is a more lovable 65-80 degrees year-round.
Adventures to come!
Until tomorrow! Have a peaceful evening.
MaryBea y Miguel