Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in organizing the annual
Afro-Antillean Fair
that takes place over Carnaval at the
Centro de
Museo de Ciencias Naturales
Av Cuba, between C 29 and C 30 • Tues-Sat 9am-3.30pm • $1
Two blocks east of Avenida Central, the
Museo de Ciencias Naturales
offers a basic intro-
duction to Panama's geology and ecology. For those who are not turned off by taxidermy and
the musty smell of formaldehyde, the museum's modest collection may prove diverting, not
least specimens of Panama's fauna that you are unlikely to see in the wild, such as the harpy
eagle and jaguar.
Plaza Belisario Porras
On Avenida Perú, between calles 33 and 34, the formal gardens of the
Plaza Belisario Por-
ras
honour the three-time president and founding father of the same name. In the vast monu-
ment to the former leader, Porras cuts a dashing figure, overlooked by splendidly restored
government buildings and the balustraded Spanish Embassy. With your back to the monu-
ment, looking up Calle Ecuador to Avenida Central, you can spy the rose window of the neo-
Romanesque
Basilica de Don Bosco
(daily 6am-6pm), built in the 1950s. As well as being
pleasantly airy with some lovely stained glass, the place is a glittering blue mass of modern
mosaics, crafted in Italy and then brought to Panama for the centennial celebrations.
Bella Vista, Marbella and El Cangrejo
The neighbouring areas of Bella Vista, Marbella and El Cangrejo form the financial and com-
mercial core of Panama City - what is often nebulously referred to as the Área Bancaria. The
once leafy barrio of
BELLA VISTA
, either side of Calle 50, brimmed with colonial man-
sions dating back to the 1930s has all but been taken over by modern high-rise buildings. To
the north on Vía España stands the incongruous twentieth-century neo-Gothic wedding cake
of the
Iglesia del Carmen
. Particularly impressive when illuminated at night, the stained-
glass windows up the aisles depict tropical flowers, while those higher up in the nave relate
tales from the Old and New Testaments. The neo-Byzantine mosaic altarpiece also grabs your
attention.
The church marks the beginning of
EL CANGREJO
, home to many of Panama City's
classier hotels and restaurants, as well as upmarket stores and shopping centres. Here, and in
the adjacent areas of Bella Vista and
MARBELLA
, much of the city's nightlife is concen-
trated. These areas are all fairly safe after dark.
Avenida Balboa and the Cinta Costera
The sweeping arc of
Avenida Balboa
that connected the city's historic heartland, Casco
Viejo, to its symbols of industrial progress, the skyscrapers of Punta Paitilla, has been ir-
revocably altered by the recent addition of the
Cinta Costera
. This multimillion-dollar un-
dertaking aimed to ease the traffic congestion by constructing a parallel four-lane highway
