Page 68 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

66 Panama City Central Panama City
1 GETTING ACTIVE ON THE CINTA COSTERA
Sunday mornings on the Cinta Costera offer a spread of recreational activities, most of them
free. Cycling is the main event; during Ciclovía Panamá (6am–noon) the regular cycleway is
extended northeast all the way to the museum at Panamá Viejo, from where you can pedal
southwest as far as the estadio maracaná, the other side of Casco Viejo – 15km one way.
around three hundred free bikes are available for this weekly event, on a first-come-first-
served basis; you’ll find them opposite the Hilton Hotel at Calle alquilino de la Guardia, in the
middle of the Cinta Costera (you’ll need to show your passport). Otherwise, you can rent a bike
(see p.75), or, if you’re staying at Luna’s Castle, use one of the bikes they loan for free to guests
(see p.77). you’re likely to need to navigate your way through joggers, skateboarders and
assorted others while on your bike.
alongside the Sunday cycling, there’s plenty of jogging, plus free exercise classes at 7 and
8am: choose from yoga, boxercise and Zumba. turn up suitably attired at the Fuente anayansi,
and treat yourself to a raspado when you’ve finished. Classes are also held on weekdays, in the
early mornings and evenings, for a few dollars.

de Mariscos (see p.80), or head around the back and catch the buzz of the cevicherías
and fish stalls overlooking the busy public dock (muelle fiscal).

Monumento a Vasco Núñez de Balboa and around
The Cinta Costera’s main sight, midway along, is the magnificent Monumento a Vasco
Núñez de Balboa. Erected in 1913, it shows the sixteenth-century explorer atop a
globe, sword in one hand and flag in the other; once looking out in perpetual triumph
on the southern ocean he “discovered”, he now seems a tad lost in the traffic. Set back
across Avenida Balboa is the grand Neoclassical facade of Hospital Santo Tomás, the
largest public medical facility in the country.
Parque Urracá
A further 800m along the embankment from the Balboa monument, the pleasant
Parque Urracá is named after the indigenous chief who famously defeated the Spaniards
and later escaped from captivity (see box, p.292). Hemmed in by high-rises, this
welcome green space comes alive in the late afternoons at weekends as locals congregate
to play football and socialize.

Punta Paitilla, Punta Pacífica and San Francisco
Jutting out into the sea at the northeastern end of the bay, the artificial peninsula
of PUNTA PAITILLA, packed with more than fifty shimmering skyscrapers, constitutes
one of Panama City’s most emblematic views. Built around 1970, the forty-storey
high-rises and their luxury apartments, many of which lie empty due to absent or
fictitious owners, became one of the city’s most exclusive residential areas. It’s also a
major Jewish neighbourhood, with a synagogue and kosher food stores and restaurants
in the vicinity.
Around the headland, the newer skyscrapers of PUNTA PACÍFICA house yet more
opulent ocean-view residences, with the sail-shaped Trump Tower easily the most
distinctive. Both exclusive enclaves form part of the broader district of SAN FRANCISCO,
which is also gradually falling prey to Panama’s skyscraper addiction. The area’s two
main landmarks are the Centro de Convenciones ATLAPA, the city’s main convention
centre (see p.85), and Parque Recreativo Omar Torrijos, generally shortened to Parque
Omar, the city’s second largest green space after the Parque Metropolitano. Hundreds
of residents take their morning exercise here, or laze about at weekends, and there’s a
lovely outdoor swimming pool (see box, p.76).

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