Trip to Azuero Peninsula

A short account of part of my recent trip to Panama in Dec. 2004 to Jan. 2005. This article in particular describes the trip -by car- from Panama city through the central provinces and the Azuero Peninsula in January 2005.

A brief exploration of the central provinces and the Azuero Peninsula

Although we normally leave very early on such trips, this time we left Panama city about 11:00. Rather than using the Bridge of the Americas to cross the Panama Canal and head towards the west, I expected we would cross via the new Centennial Bridge. Well, a disappointment for me. This beautiful bridge was finished and delivered in 2004 under the government of Mrs. Mireya Moscoso. Unfortunately one of the access roads is not finished yet and supporters of the current government are using all sort of unsubstantiated excuses to blame the bridge and the previous government. I hope this bridge does not become a monument to the immaturity of Panamanian politics.

Having crossed the Bridge of the Americas, with a nice view of the Causeway (Calzada Amador) and the Pacific entrance of the canal, we headed towards Chorrera. In Chorrera we had a short stop on PAN-1 (Panamerican Highway) to eat a brunch, delicious Tasajo, Chicheme Chorrerano and Carimañolas.

We continued our trip on the Panamerican Highway. At the height of Campana (Cerro Campana) you can get a wonderful view of the coast, in particular of Punta Chame. If you have some time to spare you may wish to visit the mirador (view point) on Campana which is accessed via a small road right at the top of Campana before the highway begins to wind down to lower heights.

We passed the entrance to El Valle which I must say is also a good destination for a side trip from Panama city. Now we were in the province of Coclé and made a brief stop in Penonomé the head of the province. Here we visited the colonial Cathedral of St. John Baptist about 800 meters off the Panamerican Highway. The name of the town owes to the cacique of the same name who headed the natives that inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spaniards.

For those wanting a splash of water and recreation the Balneario Las Mendozas might be an option. This balneary is on a river (not a beach) and is frecuented by locals. During carnival it becomes the center of celebration as the carnival floats carrying the queens actually drift on the water.

If you are staying in Penonome you should definitely not miss visiting the artisanal craft market in the town of La Pintada, the home of the famous "Sombrero Pintao" which could be a nice souvenir. If you are going to buy a real hat of Panama then this "sombrero" is your best bet. Note: The famous Panama Hat known all over the world has actually nothing to do with Panama, it is from Ecuador.

Our trip continued by road until we reached the illustrious town of Santiago de Nata de Los Caballeros (Nata of the Knights) some 117 kilometers from Panama city.

The site where Nata is located was discovered in 1515 by Captain Alonso Perez de la Rúa. The place was already inhabited by natives whose cacique was "Nata." The town was first populated as a village by Spaniards in 1517 on command of Lic. Gaspar de Espinoza. It was however destroyed and burnt to the ground by the indians. Gaspar de Espinoza did not give up and rebuilt Nata, this time as a city and populated by Spaniard noble families and knights.

Our visit to Nata de los Caballeros was short, we visited there to request the birth certificate of my grandfather because here they have the oldest registry in Panama. Unfortunately the searches are by hand because it has not been digitized. We also took the time to pay a short visit to the Minor Basilica of Santiago Apostle. It is 25 metres wide by 50 metres long with wooden beams and ceiling and being built in 1522 it is the oldest Spanish church in the Pacific litoral. Inside you can also admire the painting of the 3 divine persons which was (once) forbidden by the bishop because it "inacurately depicted the divine persons."

From here -if you have time to spare- you can visit the El Caño archeological site (some 5-10 kms. offroad) which we unfortunately did not have the time to visit. I have however visited the site several years ago (before I had a digital camera). This site had an abundant collection of precolumbine objects discovered by archeologists in the Americas. It was discovered by an american collector in 1924. Imagine his surprise when he found hundreds of antropomorphous stone sculptures and columns. In that decade they also found lots of megaliths. Unfortunately the discoverer went about his discovery in a rather amateurish and irresponsible manner, thus sawing the megaliths and damaging a large amount of these. These days you can see the "cut" columns and figures and visit the small museum (it is worth visiting) on site. Most of the actual findings that were saved currently rest in the Reyna Torres de Arauz museum in Panama city.

Having abandoned PAN-1 (Panamerican Highway) at the height of Divisa to continue our journey into the Azuero Peninsula, we proceeded on PAN-3. Although some parts of this road (like any other) are boring, in the initial leg you can enjoy the large plantations and cattle land. Along the sides of the road you always find places (hard to miss!) where you can buy fresh fruits such as watermelon, melon and even drink cold cocunut water (ah! very refreshing). Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the Sarigua National Park which is the only semi-desert in Panama (an arid region but NOT a desert).

You can also see, specially at the town of La Arena places where you can admire and buy crafts such as beautiful and durable pottery, painted and glazed. La Arena is famous in Panama for its production of ceramics that imitate pre-Columbian motifs as well as folkloric images. It is also famous for its bread, sweets and cheese. We took a short time to drive about 100 meters off PAN-3 to go into Parita. The church was unfortunately closed so we were not able to take pictures of the altar, only from outside. This picture here is of some typical houses of Parita, or the central provinces to be more precise. Better to catch them on film now before they disappear in favour of cement/concrete houses.

The Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman in Parita was built in 1656 thanks to the support offered by Juan Ruiz de Monjaraz (governor of Panama) to Frai Pedro de Santa Maria. Among the riches of this church are the four silver vases and the silver crown bathed in gold. The church has three naves and three doors, the main entrance doors (in front) are very old and still have the iron decoration. The parrochial books are also old like those of Nata but date back to year 1632. In front of the church there is a large round boulder called "the boulder of pardon" and has a hole in it. According to the tradition, the cross was put there when the town was founded. And don't forget this church was declared a historical monument. On its side there is a large "plaza" (but it is grass only) where lots of the festivities take place, in particular during carnival season.

And then there is Chitre, the head of the province. We did not stop here (in a rush) although I would have liked to visit the church at the town square considering that I am collecting photos of all colonial churches in Panama. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Chitre was begun on 1897. In this town you may also want to visit the Herrera Museum with part of the rich etnographic, folkloric and archeological history of the Azuero Peninsula.

The territory where La Villa is located was discovered by Rodrigo Valenzuela and it was originally inhabited by natives headed by a cacique named Guazán. The area was then colonized and the town of La Villa was populated by noble Spaniards who originally were settled in Nata, but started to use La Villa as their farming ground. In the end they built their homes there as well and that is how it became a town.

Having crossed the La Villa river we found ourselves in the town of the same name on the province of Los Santos. The Cathedral of San Atanacio depicted here was built in the 18th century and declared historical monument by law 32 of november 1938. Inside you can admire the wooden craft of the Immaculate Conception that dates back to 1721. It is just amazing to see all the well preserved wood work of the altar and ceiling. The altar is particularly beautiful. During Easter there is usually the Play of the Crucifiction of Christ which I used to watch every year when I was a kid.

We stayed here in our family house near the town square. Then we went to visit relatives, enjoy an afternoon lazily in a hammock having conversations of all kinds under large trees with the whispering breeze. While our family house only has a Papaya and Tamarind tree, my aunt and uncle's patio has oranges, nony, cocunut, "ciruela" (plum).

Typically of most colonial towns the church is in front of the plaza, feel free to spend some time strolling around the plaza and have a "malteada" in the kiosk nearby. Also on the other side of the plaza you find the Nationality Museum depicted here (you cannot take photos inside) on Jose Vallarino Street (Tel. 966 8192). Here you can observe some precolumbian art as well as important documents of the independence of Panama. The museum is situated in an original house like those typical of the area. In the backyard you can enjoy a beautiful garden and a reproduction (with original materials) of a typical home of the colonial times.

The building where the museum is housed (a former house really) dates back to the XVII century and is called the "Casa del Cabildo Santeño" because it was there that on Nov. 10th, 1821 the town of La Villa signed its declaration of independence from the Spanish empire. This is called the "Grito de La Villa" and is an official holiday.

It is sad how progress sometimes destroys the patrimony of a country. I used to remember so many really old houses which are little by little being replaced by modern (cement) constructions. Even the house of my grandmother, which was actually a "ranch" built with closely knit palm leafs as the ceiling and walls of earth (usually built during the so called "Junta de Embarra") and huge iron nails (we still have some as a relic), eventually sucumbed to be replaced by a modern house.

We made a quick incursion into the beach of El Rompio. Used to be a nice lively place during summer. We used to go to this beach regularly. Unfortunately many years ago a senseless project was started, the building of a cargo port about a kilometer away. When finished it changed all the currents in the area and little by little the beach got eroded, houses got washed up and disappeared and although it is still possible to bathe here you cannot expect any sort of touristic facility. This beach is then mostly used by locals. The port is now abandoned and is perhaps a monument to the lack of interest the government showed in making environmental studies. I don't doubt some people in "influential" places enriched themselves with this project.

Last but not least, some 3 kms. away from the town of La Villa there is the archeological site Cerro Juan Diaz (Juan Diaz hill) nearby another archeological site called Sitio Conte. These sites where the source of lots of precolumbine objects, unfortunately in previous decades there was a lot of looting of the site but luckily these days the excavations and management are protected by the National Culture Insitute and the Smithsonian Tropical Institute.

We stayed overnight in our family house, as it turned out my cousin and his wife and kids had also decided to spend the long weekend there so we all shared the house and had interesting conversations. Next day we actually headed to the highlands in Chiriqui but we came back here a few days later. Therefore I shall continue this tale with the places we visited upon arrival here (Los Santos) a few days later. This picture here shows you a fruit stand like those you usually see on the side of the road, this one had some delicious looking watermelons.

We rode the PAN-3 road enjoying the scenery of the central provinces and passed through (no stop this time) the town of Guarare the home of the Festival de La Mejorana and birthplace of my grandmother (father's side). In Guarare you may visit the Museum of Folkore Manuel Zarate.

We arrived to Las Tablas -the head of the province- and gave a quick visit to the plaza and church, and get some ice coconut-water ice cream (delicious!). The The Cathedral of Santa Librada in Las Tablas dates back to the XVIII century and was finished on March 9th, 1789. Unfortunately the structure suffered considerable damage during the strong seismic event of Nov. 25th, 1802. As a result it was rebuilt to repair the damage and it was finally declared a historic monument by law 32 of Oct. 19th, 1954. The main square is typical of the Spanish towns of the epoch and is covered by large trees. I saw at least one artisanal crafts booth there.

In front of the Plaza Mayor you will also find the Belisario Porras Historical Museum if you are interested in the life, work and condecorations of this illustrious Panamanian. He was elected three times as president of the republic.

Anyway, the visit there was short because we needed to get to the beach of Pedasi which was still 42 kms. south of Las Tablas. Living in Europe I had not had the pleasure of taking some real tropical sun at the beach for years. The road to Pedasi was splendid and the scenery too. It had been at least 20 years since I last came this far down on the peninsula. There is not much to do in Pedasi really so we visited the local CEFATI (Tourist Information Center - Centro de Facilidades Turisticas e Interpretacion) right off the road in front of Residencial Moscoso.

A few kilometers from Pedasi in a narrow dirt road we arrived to the large and nearly deserted beach of El Arenal. Other than a small "ranchito" there are no other facilities here, not even a place to buy a drink. That's not a negative point really, but like most other beaches in Panama you shouldn't expect a life saver either, you swim always at your own risk. From this beach you can clearly see Iguana Island (for EcoTourism) some 7 kms. off the coast.

So, what else do you do in Pedasi? Pedasi is also the head of the district of the same name. Here you find other beaches such as Las Almendras, Desfiladero and El Toro. If you go even farther you may reach Punta Mala (the far end of the peninsula) and the famous Playa Venao (Playa Venado) which is a popular spot for lovers of the surfing sport.

And from here after spending some time at the beach (I finally got a suntan!!!) we went back to La Villa to have lunch, say good bye to our relatives and drive all the way to Panama city.

Article and Photographs Copyright ©2005 Didimo Grimaldo