Page 122 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

120 The Panama Canal and CenTral isThmus The easTern CosTa arriba To Cuango
The eastern Costa Arriba to Cuango
For most people the Costa Arriba stops at Portobelo; very few venture much further
along the windswept coastline, though bearing right at the fork after Nuevo Tonosí
takes you through a string of surfing beaches and sparsely populated villages – Viento
Frío, Palenque and Miramar – before terminating at Cuango.
2 Nombre de Dios
The most compelling of the coastal settlements, NOMBRE DE DIOS is famed as the
Atlantic terminus for the Camino Real, where in colonial times treasure was transferred
from exhausted mules to ships bound for Spain. Apocryphally, the village derived its
name from the words of its founder, Diego de Nicuesa, who, desperate to land his
starving crew, espied the spot and cried out, “Paremos aquí en el nombre de Dios!”
(“Let’s stop here in the name of God!”). Sadly no trace remains of the town’s historical
past, largely thanks to Sir Francis Drake, who razed the place to the ground in 1595,
thus persuading the Spanish to move their operation to Portobelo.
Nevertheless, Nombre de Dios is a scenic place to stroll through, situated on the
palm-fringed Río Fato, and with a pleasant five-minute meander up to a mirador
offering a view of the village and the turquoise sea beyond. Playa Damas, a short hop
away by boat, is the best local beach.

Miramar and around
There’s little reason to stop off in Viento Frío and Palenque, but the forlorn cargo port
of MIRAMAR, the next village along – and the only place you can (sometimes) get petrol
– supports a small beachside hotel and a couple of restaurants. At the end of the tarred
road lies Cuango, with a tangible end-of-the-road feel, though the vast new Decameron
resort planned on the other side of the river may change all that.
arriVal and deParTure The easTern COsTa arriBa TO CuanGO
By bus Buses to Cuango from Colón (9am, 11am, 1pm, Palenque and Miramar (2hr 10min) en route. Nine more
3pm & 4.30pm; 2hr 30min) are marked “Costa Arriba– buses (6am–5.45pm; 1hr 30min) run from Colón to
Cuango”; the last return bus departs at 2–3pm. They all Nombre de Dios.
stop at Nombre de Dios (1hr 30min) Viento Frío,
aCCOmmOdaTiOn and eaTinG
★ Casita Río Indio 5min along the Nombre de Dios provide inexpensive breakfast and dinner but you’ll need to
road from Portobelo after the fork to La Guaira T6650 venture out to the kiosk down the road, or bring supplies,
6634, Wpanamacasitarioindio.wordpress.com. Set well for lunch. Activities such as horseriding, jungle hikes or
back from the road in verdant surroundings by a stream is a night outings to look for caimans can be organized. Ask the
simple wooden cabaña with two very rustic rooms at Nombre de Dios bus to drop you off, or catch a taxi ($10)
bargain rates, joined more recently by two cosy modern from Portobelo. $25
cabins costing an extra $25. The friendly French owners can

Archipiélago de las Perlas

Set in coral-rich crystalline waters in the Golfo de Panamá just a twenty-minute flight
southeast of Panama City, the 220 islands and islets that comprise the ARCHIPIÉLAGO
DE LAS PERLAS (Pearl Islands) were named by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1513 after
their once prolific black-lipped pearl oysters. Sprinkled over an area of around 1700
square kilometres, only a handful of islands are inhabited and many remain
under-explored.

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