2012. Panama City: Panama Viejo & Casco Antiguo

June 2012

 

    My good fortune to travel to Panamá began when our friend Sally mentioned at our group's annual Super Bowl party (an extremely low key affair when at some point someone says, Hasn't the game started? and small TVs get turned on) that she would be going to Panama, specifically to transit the canal, and she wouldn't mind company. Doug looked at me and said, "I've already been. Why don't you go?" So I did.

Modern Panamá City from Calzado de Amador (Amador Causeway).

    Doug was part of a Navy search and rescue helicopter squadron that, in 1978, escorted the new Belleau Wood from Mississippi through the Panama Canal to San Diego. He flew over the canal and spent a couple of days exploring on shore, but he unfortunately did not get to transit the canal.
    Sally and I researched tour companies and hotels. The Toscana Inn in the Cangrejo (Crab) District became our home base. It was a great choice, with a very comfortable room, helpful staff, and full breakfast  with amazing tropical fruits that varied each morning. If we were leaving before breakfast, the kitchen packed us a brown bag breakfast. Ah, and the Panamanian air conditioning: remote controlled and superb! (I've since realized that these were very efficient heat pumps, which have only in recent years become more frequent in US buildings.)

Panama Tree.

    We selected Sendero Panama for our tours and were not disappointed. It's owned by Christian Gernez, who is Panamanian and his wife Micaela Schmidt, from our own San Joaquin Valley. Chris, who was our tour guide each day, is bilingual, having attended college in Florida, extremely knowledgeable, and very personable. As we were the only ones signed up that week, our tours were personalized and often went hours longer than scheduled.

Corredor Sur (South) Highway crossing Panama Bay.

    It was hot and humid the entire week, reminding me of summers in Western Pennsylvania, where I grew up, but the usual Panama afternoon rain shower occurred only once.

    Panama Viejo ("old," masculine), on the eastern edge of modern Panama City, is also known as Panama La Vieja ("old," feminine). Go figure. Panamanians also shorten buenos dias (masculine plural) to buena dia (feminine singular) and most often simply buena. Knowing some Spanish, Sally and I of course tried to speak like the natives. I was pleased to hear gracia (not gracias) roll off my tongue one day, surely a sign of increased fluency. But ma o meno confused us for some time: the taxi driver had shortened mas o menos ("more or less").

Panama Viejo: The Original Site of Panama City

   Panama City was the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, founded in1519 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias de Ávila, aka Pedrarias Dávila, "Pedrarias the Cruel." Archeological digs have revealed a prior civilization, a 1,000-year-old Cueva indigenous town called Panamá, meaning "abundance." Their civilization was wiped out within 40 years of the arrival of the Spanish. We were able to see the ongoing archeological digs.

Original Spanish site of Panama City, founded in 1519 by Pedrarias Davila. Official city status was granted by Carlos V of Spain in 1521.

    All that remains today of the original site of Panama City are portions of stone walls and buildings—former monasteries, convents, churches, and forts—and the restored four-story, square bell tower of the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral), built between 1519 and 1626.

View of modern Panama from restored stone bell tower of Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion (Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral).

    We climbed the modern steel staircase to view the disparate images of old and new Panama City through the double stone arches on each side of the tower: 500-year-old ruins, modern slums and skyscrapers, Corredor Sur highway crossing Panama Bay on a causeway, ships in the bay waiting to enter the Panama Canal.

View of Panama Viejo from old stone tower.

 

Pride of India Tree & blossom.

Ships in Bajia de Panama (Panama Bay) waiting to enter the Panama Canal. (For more on the canal, see 2012: Panama - Panama Canal Full Transit.)

Skyscrapers of modern Panama City viewed from restored Panama Viejo bell tower.

    Like many cities, Panama was built by slaves. It served as the starting point for expeditions to conquer the Inca Empire in Peru. It was also a layover along the trade routes to Nombre de Dios and Portobelo on the Caribbean side of the isthmus, ports through which passed most of the mined gold and silver en route to enrich Spain.

Monnkey Paw Tree

Monkey paw nut. Hisbiscus flower.

Panama Viejo & modern Panama City.

    In January 1671, the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, Right Honourable Lord Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, sacked Panama City. Governor Juan Perez de Guzman got wind of the attack, as he had the city set on fire before Morgan reached it.

Sally Fouhse, who inspired the trip to Panama. Christian Gernez of Sendero Panama

Poorer area of modern Panama City next to remains of Panama Viejo. 

   We visited the Panama Viejo Visitors' Center and Museum. I regret to say I have little memory of it, perhaps because it was our first full day in Panama, and even though our guide Chris spoke perfect English, I was a bit overwhelmed by the instant immersion in a new country, language, and culture.

Casco Antiguo: The Second Panama City

    In 1672, following the destruction of the original Panama City in 1671 by the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, Antonio Fernández de Córdoba established a new walled city on a peninsula jutting into the Pacific, about five miles west of the original city. Today the area is known formally as San Felipe and commonly as Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo, the "Old Quarter."

1) Granclément Ice Cream Shop. 2) Plaza Herrera. 3) Escuela Nicolas Pacheco. 4) Iglesia de San Jose. 5) Catedral Metropolitano. 6) René Café. 7) Palacio Presidencial. 8) Plaza de la Independencia. 9) Palacio Municipal. 10) Panama Canal Museum. 11) Plaza Simón Bolívar. 12) Palacio Bolívar. 13) Iglesia San Francisco de Asis. 14) El Arco Chato. 15). Embassy of France. 16) Charles V monument. 17) Panama Canal Monument. 18) Plaza de Francia. 19) Paseo Esteban Huertas.

Remains of Tiger's Paw bastion that surrounded the new city.

Tiger's Paw Bastion & renovations.

Boyacá House, aka Casa del Barco (boat), Plaza Herrera, said to resemble the Columbian warship Boyacá of the 1899-1902 Thousand Days War. Built on top of city's defensive wall, it is now an apartment house.

    Casco Antiguo has a colonial European style: narrow streets and large mansions with wrought iron balconies covered in bright orange, pink, and red bougainvillea. It has been compared to New Orleans' French Quarter; Havana, Cuba; and Cartagena, Columbia. 

Typical Casco Antiguo street.

Private residence across street from Palacio Bolivar.

Typical bougainvillea-covered wrought-iron balcony.

    Casco Antiguo fell into decline, but since its 1997 appointment by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, it has undergone massive renovations to buildings and streets. 

Historical & more prosperous areas were the first to undergo repair & renovation...

...day & night.

"Preservation Project of the Historic Heritage of Panama City."

"Pedestrian Walkway."

    As some old buildings were converted to condos, hostels, and upscale hotels, the city faced the ongoing problem of resettlement of poor residents. Poverty, however, is not limited to Casco Antiguo, but rather is a persistent problem throughout Panama, with 37% of the population living in poverty and an average salary for those who work of $500 per month, not enough to live on. And of course, with gentrification comes higher prices, raising the cost of living.

Building awaiting renovation.

Daily life.

Casco Antiguo middle school tour guides, taking pride in their neighborhood, have helped clean up the streets.

Nicolas Pacheco School. 

Students participating in an anti-smoking campaign.

Institute of Agricultural Market (IMA), was founded 1975 to assist farmers with marketing.

IMA is on Plaza Herrera. 

    Tomas Herrera led an attempt in 1840 to gain Panama's independence from Colombia. Independence was ultimately achieved in 1903.

Daily market on Plaza de la Independencia.

 

Granclement, an upscale French-owned ice cream parlor we stopped in.

View from Granclement of residents across the street.

Outside side door of Metropolitan Cathedral—Presidential police are throughout Casco Antiguo. 

Restaurant in courtyard. Menu of the Day: lentil salad, vegetables, fried chicken.

Stray dogs are also ubiquitous.

Policeman texting.

Balcony dog.

Art.

Street art.

Kuna Indian crafts for sale.

Another type of street art.

And of course Panama hats for sale, here across from the French Embassy.

    Panama hats actually originated in Ecuador. As they were popularized by Teddy Roosevelt, who was instrumental in the building of the Panama Canal, they became known as hence Panama hats. Of course, Sally and I bought some. In theory, they can be rolled for packing and unrolled on arrival to regain their shape perfectly. 

Churches.

The Catedral Metropolitano (Metropolitan Cathedral) was undergoing major renovations as part of Casco Antiguo's UNESCO World Heritage site designation.

Catedral Metropolitano.

Cathedral altar area.

Original brick exposed. The church was hurriedly repaired for Trujillo's burial in 1981. It is now being correctly restored.

    Omar Trujillo was a leader of Panama in the mid-20th century, known for negotiating the treaties with Jimmy Carter that led to Panama's full ownership of the Panama Canal on December 31, 1999.

Looking through cathedral to Plaza de la Independencia.

Across side street from Catedral Metropolitano.

Iglesia de San Jose, known for the the Altar del Oro (Golden Altar).

According to legend, the Golden Altar was originally in Panama Viejo & a priest painted it black or covered it with mud to conceal it from the pirate Henry Morgan when he ransacked the city in 1671.

Stained-glass window in Iglesia de San Jose (Saint Joseph Church).

El Arco Chato (the Flat Arch) was part of Iglesia de Santo Domingo (St James Church).

French engineer Philippe Bunau-Varilla cited El Arco Chato as proof that Panama has no earthquakes.

Pieces from the arch that fell in a 2003 earthquake. The arch was rebuilt.

    Bunau-Varilla was influential in persuading the United States senate to fund the construction of a canal across Panama rather than Nicaragua. He sent each senator a stamp depicting a smoking volcano in Nicaragua.

Reconstruction in courtyard of Jesuit crosses made of cow vertebrae.

Iglesia San Francisco de Assis next to Palacio Bolivar.

Museums.

The Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INCA), tasked with preserving Panama's history & culture, is housed in the former Supreme Court Building. 

  

INCA 3-story interior courtyard opens to the sky.

Colorful murals in INCA depict the history of Panama.

Palacio Municipal (City Hall) & Museo de la Historia.

Museo del Canal Interoceanico de Panama

    The neoclassic building housing the Panama Interoceanic Canal Museum was the first French architecture in Caseo Antiguo. Built in 1875 as the Grand Hôtel, in 1881 it became the headquarters of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, the French company under Ferdinand de Lesseps that began construction of the canal. In 1904, after the French effort failed, the building became the United States Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), until the canal headquarters were moved to Balboa Heights in 1910. The building then became the Panama Post and Telegraph Office until it was transformed into the Interoceanic Panama Canal Museum in 1997.

Panama Interoceanic Canal Museum

Plazas. 

    The Catedral Metropolitano is on Plaza de la Independencia.

Plaza de la Independencia-Plaza Catedral.

Sally on Plaza de la Independencia.

  

We had lunch one day at Rene Cafe on Plaza de la Independencia.

René Café  is gold building.

    The Plaza de San Francisco by Iglesia San Francisco, was renamed Plaza Bolivar in 1833. Simón Bolivár, sought to unify the countries of Latin American to gain independence from Spain. A statue of Bolivar surmounted by a Harpie eagle, symbol of Panama, was erected on the plaza in 1926. 

Monument to Simon Bolívar.

Harpie Eagle, symbol of Panama, atop monument.

Palacio Bolívar on Plaza Bolívar houses the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Interior of Palacio Bolivar. 

Street leading away from Plaza Bolívar.

Cafes surround Plaza Bolívar.

Sally taking photo of balcony with hanging leg.

Hotel Columbia, with a swimming pool on the roof, on Plaza Bolivar.

Other government buildings, including the Palacio Presidencial, white building at end, are not far from Plaza Bolivar.

   Plaza Carlos V honors King Carlos V of Spain, who granted the original Panama City official status. It's located on Calle 2a Oeste,  the road that leads to the Plaza de Francia. Carlos V is said to have suggested connecting the Pacific and the Caribbean through Panama 400 years before the French would undertake construction of the Panama Canal.

Carlos V & Marilyn.

French Embassy - No Parking.

French Embassy.

French Embassy viewed from steps of INCA; Iglesia San Francisco de Assis beyond.

The Espace Culturel Fredinand de Lesseps, next to the French Embassy, is a center for canal history & French culture.

The Plaza de Francia was the original main square of Casco Antiguo.

    The Plaza de Francia, on the tip of the peninsula, was the main square of Casco Antiguo, the second Panama City. 

Calle 2a Oeste, headed toward Plaza de Francia. Former university club now condos.

Looking down Calle 2 Este toward Plaza de Francia.

    The lower plaza has busts of the Panamanian and French engineers involved in the French era of constructing the Panama Canal, along with marble slabs that recount the French era of canal-building.

Steps to upper plaza.

Memorial to French canal engineers & the 22,000 recorded deaths of workers who died in the French era of building the Panama Canal. In front is the bust of Ferdinand de Lesseps, leader of French effort to build the canal.

    The Corazol American Cemetery and Memorial, three miles north of Panama City, is in part a memorial to the Americans who died in the building of the Panama Canal. We did not visit it.

Marilyn & Sally, Plaza de Francia.

Kuna Indian woman in traditional dress  & daughter.

Paseo Esteban Huertas leading away from the Plaza de Francia. Chris on right.

Las Bovedas (the Vaults), seawall with former dungeons below, is the base of Plaza de Francia/.

Modern Panama City viewed from tip of peninsula of Casco Antiguo.

* * *

    As those of you who read our posts regularly know, I love putting maps in our blogs. (It didn't hurt when a friend said how much he likes them.) With all our travels, and the ability with the internet to explore in detail, I've become fascinated with maps and geography. My sons are way ahead of me. When they were in 6th grade, had a year-long project of memorizing and being able to draw and label a Mercator map of the world, and can still point to and name most any country on a map.

    I knew that Panama is in Central America, and that Central America connects North and South America, but I did not realize its geographic position vis-a-vis the islands of the Caribbean. So, I wanted to include a map of that area here, for my own edification. I labeled Trinidad and Tobago because of our administrative assistant when I taught at Fresno City College. I pride myself on being able to recognize where a person is from by their accent and locutions, but  Pearl, with her lilting English, had me stumped. Finally, one day I asked her native language. "English," she responded. "I'm from Trinidad and Tobago." Boy, was I embarrassed at my faux pas.