Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Pa

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo

   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.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo is where the day begins. Next is Camino de Cruces Section 2.

2. 2. Near San Vicente

   North of Panama City, the Transístmica highway climbs out of the sprawl toward the Caribbean, following the old route across the isthmus.

   Read the complete Near San Vicente write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Camino de Cruces Section 2 comes up 47 km in. Next is Historic District of Panamá.

3. 3. Historic District of Panamá

   After Morgan destroyed the old town in 1671, the Spanish chose a new site a few kilometres west, on a rocky peninsula that was easier to defend, and moved the city in 1673. That is the historic district of Panamá, today called Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo, and it is a very different place from the ruins. Narrow streets laid out in a grid run past colonial churches, balconied houses and small plazas, with the Pacific on three sides and the glass towers of the modern city across the bay.

   Read the complete Historic District of Panamá write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   94 km in you reach Historic District of Panamá. Next is Camino de Cruces Section 1.

4. 4. Near Colón

   West of the Panama Canal's Caribbean end, the land goes quiet surprisingly fast. You cross from the Colón side on the Atlantic Bridge, the long cable-stayed span that finally replaced the old swing bridge and the ferry over the canal entrance, and within minutes the container cranes give way to rainforest, old American base buildings and a narrow road heading north toward the mouth of the Chagres River.

   Read the complete Near Colón write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Camino de Cruces Section 1, about halfway. Next is Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Pa.

5. 5. Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Pa

   Columbus named it Puerto Bello, the beautiful harbour, in 1502, and for once a sailor's first impression was right. Portobelo sits on a deep, sheltered bay on Panama's Caribbean coast, backed by steep green hills, and for two centuries it was the point where the wealth of Peru left the New World. Gold and silver came by sea up the Pacific coast to Panama City, crossed the isthmus on mule trails like the Camino de Cruces, and were loaded here onto the Spanish treasure fleets. Every year, a great fair was held, with merchants and soldiers crowding the little port, and prices and diseases both soared.

   Read the complete Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Pa write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Pa sits at 187 km, about halfway. Next is back through Camino de Cruces Section 1.

6. 6. Near Colón

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Near Colón write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Camino de Cruces Section 1 comes up 234 km in. Next is back through Historic District of Panamá.

7. 7. back through Historic District of Panamá

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Historic District of Panamá write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   281 km in you reach back through Historic District of Panamá. Next is back through Camino de Cruces Section 2.

8. 8. Near San Vicente

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Near San Vicente write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Camino de Cruces Section 2, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo.

9. 9. Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 397 km.