Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Hotel La Villa
A few hundred metres off the Carretera Nacional 966 9321,
hotellavil-
lapanama.com
.
The better of the town's two hotels, though service can be indifferent and
you'll either love or hate the folkloric-themed decor, is a pleasant low-key place with good-
value rooms (a/c, hot water, cable TV and firm beds), ranging
from
single rooms to suites, in
a garden setting with a pool and moderately priced restaurant.
$45
Hotel Restaurante Kevin
Just south of the bus terminal 966 8276,
hotelranchokev-
in@yahoo.com
.
Motel comprising compact, clean, functional rooms with the standard amen-
ities set round
a gr
assy area. Set back from the main road. Filling
comida criolla
is served at
the restaurant.
$32
Zapatos los Cuates
Main road, close to the fairgrounds.
This gringo-run Mexican joint under
a breezy
rancho
sells tacos, burritos and the like for under $6 and is a good place for a drink.
Tues-Sun 3pm-midnight.
Guararé
The somnolent town of
GUARARÉ
, 6km north of La Tablas, springs to life once a year, as
enthusiastic crowds arrive in droves to enjoy the famous
Festival de la Mejorana
. That aside,
Guararé's other claim to fame is as the birthplace of Panama's greatest sporting legend and
one of the all-time greats of world boxing,
Roberto Durán
, better known as Manos de Piedra
(“Hands of Stone”).
Casa Museo Manuel Fernando Zárate
Five blocks north of the main square • Mon-Sat 8.30am-3.30pm, Sun 9am-noon • Free
The
Festival de la Mejorana
, first held in 1949, was the brainchild of a local teacher, Manuel
Zárate, whose nostalgia for Panama while studying abroad made him realize the need to pro-
mote and preserve the country's cultural traditions. The
Casa Museo Manuel Fernando
Zárate
chronicles Zárate's life and the festival's history. Walls are plastered with photos, in-
cluding portraits of previous
reinas
, some antique
polleras
and menacing devil costumes.
