I just got back from Panama Viejo - the original site of old Panama city before it was attacked and destroyed by Captain Morgan in 1671. I visited the remaining ruins together with Matthias (DE) who I had already briefly met back in the hostel in Granada, Nicaragua, a few weeks ago. We ran into each other again last night in front of a supermercado in Panama City - victims of the heavily traveled "gringo trail" through Central America!! The same had happened last night in the hostel where I met a girl again who had studied at the same language school in San Juan del Sur / Nicaragua with me.

From our meeting point in the morning it took a while to find the right bus to Panama Viejo, but we managed, hopped off the bus when we spotted the old walls along the side of the road, and walked straight down the street about 100 m to the entrance gate along the fence. The ruins of the old capital were honestly not extremely impressive compared to the likes of Pompeij, Olympia and Copán. The attached Mercado de Artesanias with its plentiful of Molas (Kuna indigenous fabrics) were quite nice, though. The most memorable of this excursion however happened on our way back to the bus stop. About 50 m before the stop, just across from we had gotten off earlier, on the straight street parallel to the ruins leading up from the market, a police car pulled over, an agent stepped out and asked us where we were going. Trained in our cultures, we got a little nervous - have we done something wrong? - but answered truthfully: "to the bus stop".
- "Why?"
- "to take the bus to downtown"
- "if you walk up there, you'll get robbed!"
- "??!! ... really? but it's only 50 m!"
- "yes, but you'll get robbed. You better get a taxi"
Matthias and I agreed that his was a "Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl" (~ a tiny hint with a huge red flag), and trotted back to where the taxis passed.

After all, it proved correct that I had sensed my alertness slightly raised when we had first arrived at the site. And sorry to tell you, Matthias, it was the same unsafe feeling I had when walking up to the hidden ruins on the remote hill by the sea side! :)