Exploring Panama Viejo: Culture, Cuisine, and Convenience

Aarghh me hearties

Our plan today was to chill by the hotel pool, unfortunately still being worked on so it is shut.

Instead, we decided to visit Panama Viejo not to be confused with Casco Viejo where we went yesterday! Casco is the old town of the current Panama City whereas Panama Viejo is the archaeological site of the previous Panama City. It was attacked by the privateer/pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. I understand he was paid by Britain to attack Spanish outposts in this area. It's believed the people in the city knew they were losing so burnt the town down to stop his looting. I apologise if my history is dodgy.

The actual remains are far from dodgy, instead an amazing place to visit and learn about Panama at that time. Where they have had to make repairs they use current material to highlight what is not original so red bricks, wooden floors and plastic roofs. What also brilliant is that you can walk everywhere on the site, no keep of the grass signs it sort of reminded us of Yorkshire Sculpture park without the sheep.

Today has been another hot one 33C but apparently feels like 39. We were certainly feeling the heat.

The ruins (as well as being a great place to spend a few hours learning about history) is a wedding destination with massive dining areas and some incredible sites for the wedding service. The pictures from the internet of weddings there look amazing.

Even a pirate would like the ubers

We continue to be impressed by the cheap Uber rides although the cost of everything else is more than what we've got used to. Its still cheaper than home though. Also due to the language barrier we don't get the usual taxi chat. Maybe this means I could get my hair cut and not be asked about my holiday plans

A Culinary Treat: Enjoying a Great Meal Nearby

After a day of exploring the ruins and understanding the history of Panama Viejo, don’t forget to treat yourself to a great meal at one of the nearby restaurants. Tonight we went to the restaurant closest to out hotel, La Vespa. It was our best meal in Panama and in the top 3 of our trip so far. We even lashed out on limoncello to finish!

Less impressive is the communication from the travel agent. He's not very responsive to emails. We have received Karen's ticket for the flight tomorrow but no mention of Matthew on there. May be folk around here are less stressheads than us. We have a driver coming so fingers crossed its all good our next post will be interesting. Karen says she is off to the beach regardless !!!