Old Panama City - It's Hurtin'

La Catedral - not a huge number of tourists to explore in this main plaza

Peter and I had booked three nights to check out Old Panama City or Casco Viejo before getting on Mehalah.   

Casco Viejo is a very small area of colonial buildings - some beautifully restored, many in ruins and some abandoned mid restoration process.  It's an area where all businesses cater to tourists or support the businesses that cater to tourists.  The town is beautifully situated on a point of land that juts into the larger Bahia de Panama and is bounded by a bustling neighbourhood that edges on poverty.  Hence, it is deemed necessary that the relatively small number of tourists in Casco Viejo are "protected" by armed police at almost every corner.  Although the Palacio Presidencial, the official presidential residence, is there, it is impossible to access it's street without getting accosted by automatic-rifle- armed guards - inadvertently, we did just that and were chased at a run and a growled hale. On our first night, we were told where we could walk safely in the evening.  From conversations we had, this sad situation was induced by three years of covid restrictions and no tourists.  Although tourists are trickling in, it is much too little, and much too late for what seemed like a majority of restaurants and other businesses.  Of course, all tourist areas have been hit hard by the repercussions of covid, but from what we saw, this small area, which at the best of times is not high on a traveller's list of places to visit but is totally dependent on tourist dollars, will take a long, long time to recover.

A lovely walkway along the sea to a point which should be a bustling market of artisanal work done by indigenous peoples.  Not bustling and only a few booths.

Plaza Bolivar honouring Simon Bolivar or El Libertador, the independence leader who we have seen all over Central and South America.

With that impression colouring our stay, we enjoyed our wander around the area.  We made a stop in the highly acclaimed Museo del Canal Interoceanico, learning more about the route we had travelled just ten months ago.  We sat and watched people in the plazas and admired the churches.  

The second day we rented bikes and rode along the malecon past a busy fish market and toward the Frank-Gehry-designed BioMuseo - construction, obliterating the bike path stopped us before getting there.  The ocean front path was dotted with recreational space but only a handful of people. 

The larger, richer cityscape of the modern banking and commercial district which is, indeed, impressive.

On the whole, we much preferred our experience of the natural bounties of Panama last year in San Blas, Las Perlas and along the southern coast to Costa Rica then the big city.  No surprise really!  Glad we saw it but happy to begin the next stage of our adventure - on Mehalah!!