So, as you might expect, this area is really just ruins.The site includes the ruins of the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, as well as traces of the first inhabitants of the Isthmus. Panama City was founded by Pedrarias Dávila on August 15, 1519, and reached 10,000 inhabitants in the XVII century. In 1671 the city was destroyed by an attack led by the English pirate Henry Morgan, and it was never rebuilt. The remains of the old city were abandoned for more than two centuries. This radical abandonment allowed for the long-term conservation of the historical and archaeological remains of the important buildings and structures, while the city’s activity was transferred to what is currently known as the Old Quarter or Casco Antiguo.
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| The old city in front and the current skyline in the distance. |
Tuesday we took a taxi to see the Bio-Diversity Museum--it's a relatively new museum which was designed by Frank Gehry. The taxi dropped us off on the corner; once we got closer we realized that there weren't any people around.
Sure enough, it's closed on Tuesdays! So, we took pictures of the outside and then walked all the way down the causeway. We took another taxi back to Casco Viejo, ate lunch at Super Gourmet again and had natural, artisanal popsicles at PalettAmerica. After a long walk back to the hotel, we connected with our airport transport and got to the airport 2 1/2 hours before our 9:00 p.m. flight.
It was after 11 when we got home, tired but happy. All around, there couldn't have been a better way to celebrate Stephen's birthday.
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