A pirate raid ended one city and started another here. Panamá Viejo, the ruins on the shore east of the modern centre, was founded in 1519 by Pedrarias Dávila as the first Spanish settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas, and for over 150 years it was the staging post where Peruvian silver was loaded for the crossing to the Atlantic. In 1671 the privateer Henry Morgan crossed the isthmus with a force of buccaneers, took the town and left it burning. The Spanish never rebuilt it on the same site.
What survives is a scatter of stone walls, arches and the tower of the cathedral, which stands on a low rise near the water and can be climbed for a view over the ruins, the bay and the skyscrapers to the west. The site is on the UNESCO list together with the later historic district, and the contrast between the two is the point of any visit: old stones on the edge of a modern boulevard, with the city's towers behind them. Plan an hour or two and go early, because in the Panamanian heat the ruins offer almost no shade.
Getting here by motorcycle means working through Panama City's traffic, which is busy and sometimes aggressive. The Cinta Costera, a waterfront road along the bay, gives a clear and fast run with views of the skyline, but the surrounding streets are heavy with buses, taxis and delivery vans. Rain arrives suddenly in the wet season from May to December, often in the afternoon, and the painted lines turn slippery. The dry months, from January to April, are the best for riding and for the ruins.
Fuel is everywhere in this city of more than a million in its urban area, including right near the site in Parque Lefevre. Cafés and snack stands cluster at the entrance, and fresh coconut water and cold drinks are welcome after the walk. Keep valuables out of sight when parked, and use official parking where possible.
Early on a dry-season morning, when the tide is out and the light is still soft on the stones, is the moment to come.