Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
stop on the Interamericana, across the road from the
Hotel Interamericana
, if they have spare
seats.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Fonda la Fula
Av Rodolfo Chiari, towards the Interamericana.
This place has the best repu-
tation for traditional food; a basic affair with long aluminium tables under a corrugated iron
roof, it is famous for its
sancocho
.
Thurs-Sun 6am-late.
Hotel Carisabel Calle
Vía El Puerto 997 3800,
hotelcarisabel.com
.
Pleasant, compact
rooms with more furniture and better paintwork than the
Interamericana
, and with
the
same
amenities, including a fishpond-size pool and a bar-restaurant offering decent food.
$44
Hotel Interamericano
Interamericana 997 4363.
Bland but functional en-suite rooms (hot
water, cable TV, a/c & fan), though the main attraction is the excellent large swimming pool,
which transforms into a local party place at weekends, so select your room carefully. The on-
site re
stau
rant has a vast menu to suit most palates (mains $6-10) and lunchtime family meal
deals.
$44
Hotel Sarita
Behind Super Carnes on Av Alejandro T. Escobar 997 4437.
For the budget
traveller, this long-standing central hotel offers good-value accommodation, where you can
choose between a basic dou
ble
with fan, cold water and local TV, or, for $15 extra, one with
a/c, hot water and cable TV.
$15
Panadería y Restaurante La Espiga
Main square 997 4333.
Bright and airy cafeteria-
style place, serving decent food from sandwiches, through burgers and salads, to traditional
Panamanian mains ($6-9); it is particularly popular at weekends when locals come to social-
ize over breakfast (including great fresh juices) and enjoy the paper.
Daily 6.30am-10.30pm.
Parque Arqueológico El Caño
18km north of Aguadulce, just off the Interamericana • Tues-Sat 8am-3.30pm; closed Sun & public holidays
• $1 • 228 6231 (not working while the museum's closed for restoration) • Buses between Aguadulce and
Penonomé can drop you on the Interamericana at the entrance to the village, from where it's a further 3km walk
to the site - a taxi from
Natá
($7) might be easier
The
Parque Arqueológico El Caño
is one of Panama's most significant pre-Columbian ar-
cheological sites, which narrowly escaped bulldozing in the 1970s. Sadly, a combination of
plunder, vandalism and neglect means there is relatively little for the lay visitor to appreciate,
while the park's floodplain location makes it a mosquito-infested quagmire in the rainy sea-
son. Even so, the well-preserved skeletons are quite impressive and worth a look if you're in
the area and not pressed for time.
An important ceremonial site from 500 to about 1200 AD, El Caño later became a cemetery,
and was still in use as such after the conquest. One of the most fascinating finds was over
a hundred basalt statues that formed what was described as the “Temple of the Thousand
Idols”, which were illegally decapitated by an American Indiana Jones-style adventurer in the
