We hopped on the bus and did the city, starting with Panama Viejo (Old Panama), then the Biological Museum and finally the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter). It’s not every city that has two Old Towns, but we can thank Henry Morgan for that.

Without getting too deep in the historical weeds, Panama City, established by the Spaniards in 1519, was the first European city on the Pacific coast of North America (everyone has to be first at something). It was Spain’s jumping off point for conquering the Incas in Peru and for shipping gold and silver back home via Portobello and Nombre de Dios over on the Caribbean side.

Enter Henry Morgan, the buccaneer pirate (and the guy on the rum bottle). Bad guy, according to our guide today. But wait, that’s not the whole story. Henry Morgan did his pirating during the Anglo-Spanish Wars, a series of conflicts spanning 1585 to 1660 (remember the Spanish Armada?) and beyond. Morgan was issued a license by the British government to raid, take plunder and kill Spanish wherever he could find them.

Based in Jamaica, he raided Cuba, Venezuela and the Spanish Main, including Panama. After doing his thing in Portobelo and Nombre de Dios (he was after the gold there), he led 1,400 soldiers across the isthmus to Panama City to plunder even more gold. There, much to his dismay, the loot had been taken to Peru and so he had to content himself with merely knocking down and burning the city to the ground.

Ooops, he did his raid in 1671. The English and Spanish had signed a peace treaty in 1670. To appease the Spanish, the Brits arrested Henry, brought him back to London where he was celebrated as a hero and was knighted. He eventually became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. Having been accused of murder and torture in the Panama City raid, his reputation was tarnished but nonetheless he ended up promoting rum, a drink, along with others, of which he was overly fond.

A couple of years later the Spaniards built a new city, the Casco Viejo that we visited this afternoon. It’s a proper old town, with several Catholic/Spanish cathedrals and churches, Spanish style architecture and more guys selling Panama hats than you can rattle a castanet at. The Pope came to town and blessed the alter in the newest cathedral in 2019.

In between the Viejo visits we went to the Biomuseo, a fantastic building designed by Frank Gehry that houses exhibits of Panama’s diverse environment, past and present. We had a great guide who, in a very efficient but fun manner, led us to the important exhibits.

Lunch was at a Raddison hotel, not bad for a bus buffet. Then back to the hotel by 4 PM to shower (it was hot and humid today), nap (for those not blogging) and packing for tomorrow’s departure.

In the pictures today I tried to capture out the bus window the fantastic glass and steel skyscrapers sprawling across the Panama City skyscrape. “Where did all the money come from to build the city we see today?” I asked our guide. “From foreigners, especially Russians who see Panama City as a great place to invest.” Indeed, Panama City is something of a tax haven in the mode of Hong Kong, Singapore and the Cayman Islands. The government is trying to extract more from corporations located here and to reduce the country’s debt burden, but it’s not a done deal yet, as I understand the situation. But here the disparity between the skyscrapers and average citizen’s standard of living is stark.

The farewell dinner tonight included traditional music and dance and a four-course dinner.

We’re being taken to the airport at 9 AM, flying at 12 noon and arriving in Bogotá at 1:40 PM. Bogotá is forecast to have a high of 70 degrees so our slim-to-none warm weather clothing will get a workout.

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