In 1519 the cruel and ruthless Pedro Arias Davilla founded what would become Panama City. It was the first European
settlement on the Pacific Ocean and with Francisco Pizarro as mayor soon became homebase for the conquest of Inca Peru.
The looted
gold of the Inca's was brought back to Panama and then transported overland via the dangerous and secret Camino des Cruces to
the Atlantic side for shipment to Spain.
In 1671 Panama was thoroughly sacked, looted and burned to the ground by the feared
privateer Henry Morgan.
A new town (what is now the historic district of Casco Viejo in present day Panama City), was build a
few km to the south-west and soon flourished, leaving the scarred remains of the original town, now called Panama Viejo, as silent
reminders of past violent times.
The most important parts of the ruins of Panama Viejo survived the encroaching suburbs and became a World Heritage Site in 1997.
We visited Panama Viejo and Casco Viego in January 2009.