David - Panama's tropical second city

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David is Panama's second city. That's really hard to believe when you approach on the bus and even harder to believe when you are actually there. Most people don't bother stopping and just change bus to get to Boquete. They are missing out on something very different when it comes to city breaks, although speaking Spanish really did make it a more enriching experience.

On arrival we fended off the ticket touts trying to get us onto another bus and avoided all of the numerous taxis as it was only a 10-15 minute walk to our hotel. Ok, it was a bit of a hot and sticky walk, but in David the climate makes that in the capital seem fresh, so you have to get used to it. When we got to the Hotel Iberia we were redirected to the Hotel Iberia Sur diagonally across the junction. Apparently foreigners are put in there as the rooms are a higher standard! It was ok, but we chose it because it was the cheapest place with a central location so you get what you pay for.

Location wise it was perfect for exploring the city on foot though. The Plaza Miguel de Cervantes is just a few blocks away. The fountain in the middle is quite disappointing and there's not a hint of Don Quixote there. Also on the square is the Sagrada Familia church. Remove any ideas of Barcelona from your minds; this was just a nice but simple church. We couldn't find a way to get inside unless we went at mass times which was a shame. From there we wandered a few blocks through Barrio Bolivar looking at some of the crumbling colonial architecture. We really liked it, although far too many places are in dire need of a bit of TLC. The old church on the Plaza Simon Bolivar was nice too, but also closed to the public outside times of worship.

Nearby we saw a curious building which looked to be full of interesting photos and objects. We stuck our heads inside and were greeted like long lost friends. Presumably they don't get too many tourists turning up, let alone ones who speak Spanish. This turned out to be the Fundación Cultural Gallegos and a plaque to that effect was on one wall in the corner above an old typewriter and a handful of pre-Columbian clay figurines. We were told that there are no original members from Galicia still living, which explains why they didn't seem too bothered about their cultural roots. Their Facebook page hasn't been touched since 2015 so a bit of effort is required by someone or they risk losing this forever. It was a great place to connect with some people from the city though, and we left very pleased that we had made the effort. The crumbling building covered in scaffolding next door was once a museum but there seems no sign of life in its renovations and we wonder if the artefacts from there have simply moved next door.

Just around the corner was the Mueso del Barrio y Antiguedades La Casona. We had expected to go in, look at a few tatty exhibits, leave a dollar in the donations box and walk out. We ended up spending a good hour or more in there chatting away with the enthusiastic curator. He took us through the entire history of the city and was full of wonderful stories such as the day that Alexander Graham Bell visited, and another visit from the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh. There were sections on local coffee production, fiestas, the development of technology, and even a collection of old beer bottles from the region! Honestly, if you bypass David and this museum, you really have no interest in getting to know a country.

In the museum we saw a photo of the old railway station. Sadly there are no trains and there haven't been for half a century, but the building still exists. We hot footed it down to the library now housed in the station, where a librarian went upstairs to grab a booklet full of meeting minutes about the conversion process. Luckily there were some interesting newspaper articles in the folder too and we learned a lot about Panama's defunct railway system. There are plans to rebuild some of it, and several locomotives have been moved to a town some 35km away where a museum is being constructed. Will it ever come to fruition? It's possible as they seem to be working on it at the moment from what I saw on YouTube!

I have to say that that was pretty much it, so don't go booking a week. One night, or two if you don't want to rush is enough. Be prepared for chance encounters like the one we had with the guy in the fire extinguisher shop who was keen to tell me about the murals in and outside his store. The impressive backdrop inside was by a Colombian artist and was already there when he bought the place. A local artist did the work outside and the company use a cute fire extinguisher design which was created by his little boy!

In a city not geared up for tourism we didn't expect to eat well, but we found three excellent places and there are surely more if you scratch beneath the surface. MultiCafe No 2 provided us with breakfast and lunch for a very small price. Everything was Panamanian cuisine and dining with the locals was great. Not far from our hotel was El Fogón where I ate the closest thing to gammon I have ever found outside the UK! Again the price defied expectations. Finally, a bit of a walk down dark streets with open ditches down the side didn't put us off and Hangar Bar and Grill fed us some wonderful burgers. I would imagine it gets a bit of an ex-pat crowd at times but it was full of Panamanian families during our visit. The walk there and back may scare some people but David felt like a very safe place to be and we never sensed any threat.

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Photos

Odd fountain in the Plaza Miguel de Cervantes
Wouldn't Don Quixote have been more appropriate?

The local museum
Full, and I mean FULL, of very interesting stuff. So pleased we could speak Spanish to find out more.

Comments

[ComfortSuites]

Great Article
Thanks to share your wonderful Knowledge here. Thank You.

[D MJ Binkley]

The museum visit
Museums often provide unexpected experiences. It sounds like the curator made this one special.