Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plaza Bolívar and around
The town's main drag, Avenida J.D. Arosemena (also known as Vía Central), runs a few
hundred metres from the Interamericana to the pleasant
Plaza Bolívar
(also known as Plaza
8 de Diciembre). Featuring a statue of Simón Bolívar, the square is flanked by government
buildings and the
Catedral de San Juan Bautista
, where the early morning or evening light
projects dancing rainbows of colours through the new stained-glass windows. To the east of
the cathedral, a small
plazuela
features monuments to Penonomé's glitterati including a bust
of
Victoriano Lorenzo
, a local nationalist hero who was eventually tricked into capture and
executed by firing squad (see
The War of the Thousand Days
).
Museo de Historia y Tradición Penonomeña
C San Antonio • Tues-Sun 9am-4pm, • $1 • 997 8490
Located in quiet San Antonio, the oldest part of town, the
Museo de Historia y Tradición
Penonomeña
occupies a tiled blue-and-white
quincha
(wattle and daub) building and con-
tains a modest collection of pre-Columbian ceramics, colonial religious art and period fur-
niture.
Balneario Las Mendozas
If the heat gets too much, a five-minute walk northeast out of town will take you to the
Bal-
neario Las Mendozas
, a popular swimming area in the Río Zaratí, location of the aquatic
parade at Carnaval, when the floats are literally floated down the river. Though a party place
at weekends and during holidays, you can enjoy a quieter dip here at other times, or upstream
at
Las Tres Peñas
, a more attractive pool.
