Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Parque Unión and around
To the side of the cathedral are the immaculate formal gardens of the
Parque Unión
. The
neatly clipped flowerbeds and swaying palm trees around a stately bandstand provide the
backdrop for the mixing of modernity and tradition: young suited executives hold forth on
their mobile phones while elderly
campesinos
in
montunos
and
sombreros de junco
- the
traditional embroidered shirts and workday straw hats - discuss the local news. Stroll two
blocks east to
Parque Centenario
, a more low-key affair, surrounded by squat red-tiled
houses with wrought-iron grillwork.
Museo de Herrera
Parque Bandera, C Manuel María Correa • Mon-Sat 8am-4pm, Sun 9am-noon • $1
Housed in an elegant converted colonial mansion and former post office, the
Museo de Her-
rera
is probably the best museum outside Panama City, though is nevertheless quite modest
(explanations only in Spanish). Downstairs focuses on the pre-Columbian era: a couple of
fine ceremonial
metates
stand out, as well as the impressive collection of
ceramics
. A re-
production
burial chamber
shows a life-size model
cacique
decked out in his gold arm and
leg bands, while copies of gold
huacas
from the anthropological museum in Panama City
line the walls. Upstairs, fast forward several hundred years to the colonial and post-colonial
periods, with displays of
traditional musical instruments
and
costumes
, which inevitably
include elaborate
polleras
and devil outfits, and various
tools
from rural life, some of which
are still used today. Don't miss the pouch made from a bull's scrotum used to carry staples
for mending fences. The museum also offers
cultural tours
of the area, but only in Spanish.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CHITRÉ
By bus
Chitré's bus terminal ( 996 6426) is 1km south of the town centre on the bypass,
Vía Circunvalación, with frequent minibus shuttles to the main plaza, where you can catch
the return bus to the bus terminal. Taxis from the bus terminal cost around $2 to most places
in town. Getting to Chitré from Panama City involves taking one of the regular large buses
from Albrook bus terminal (hourly, 6am-11pm; 3hr 30min).
Destinations
Aguadulce (every 20min, 4am-6pm; 1hr); La Arena (every 10-15min,
6am-9pm); La Villa de los Santos (every 10-15min, 6am-9pm; 15min); Las Minas (every
30min, 6am-6pm; 45min); Las Tablas (every 10-15min, 6am-9pm; 40min - change for
Pedasí and Tonosí); Macaracas (every 30-45min, 6am-6pm; 1hr); Ocú (every 30min,
6.30am-7pm; 1hr); Panama City (1.30am, 2.45am, then hourly, 4am-6pm; 3hr 30min); Pesé
(every 15-20min, 6.30am-6.30pm; 30min); Playa Agallito (every 30min, 6am-6pm); Santi-
ago (every 30min, 5am-6.30pm; 1hr 10min - change for David).
