Something my friend Nikki and I had planned to do even before we arrived in Panama City was visit Mi Pueblitos, which was described in various guidebooks as either a “living museum” or Disneyland-type villages, representing three indigenous, Afroantillean and Spanish cultures that largely make up the population base of Panama. We weren’t certain whether it would just be buildings or something on the order of Colonial Williamsburg or the Polynesian Cultural Center.
After the traumatic events of the previous day when we were held hostage by Panamanian pirates, we both needed some down time and decided it was time to go do something fun and something over which we had a measure of control. Nancy, who had also been a hostage, decided to join us so we took a taxi from the port to Mi Pueblitos. It was up a steep, paved driveway in a lush forest setting.
When we got out of the taxi, it wasn’t obvious where the entrance was. It was early in the day but the gates were unlocked and open. This is what we saw.
Close-up of the fountain and left-hand side of the village 7088
Most of the areas under the porch roofs on the right and left hand sides are shops selling Panamanian handicrafts. We asked a woman in one shop where the entrance was and she pointed vaguely in the direction we had come from so we turned back and went that way, looking for a ticket booth. The guide books we’d read gave the entrance fee as either $1 or $2, but we never did see a functioning ticket booth. Nancy and Nikki walked along the driveway which sloped upward while I stayed behind to snap some photos and then to change batteries in my camera because those inside suddenly became exhausted. The pictures I took while they hiked:
Monument 7089
Right side close-up 7090
Center close-up7091
Left side close-up 7092
They were partway up the hill when I called them back and pointed out the entrance to another Pueblitos (little village). It was the Afroantillean one, representing the culture brought to Panama from the West Indians who came to work on the Panama Canal.
I suppose this is the entrance sign for the Afroantillean Pueblito. 7094
The yellow house was the first house we saw; it had shops on the ground level. I think at the far end of the ground level was also a restaurant but it wasn’t open that early in the day.
The Yellow House 7095
Brass Plaque about the A-A Pueblito 7097
High on a hill overlooking the rest of the pueblito was the blue church 7098
Church Interior 7099
View of windows and view beyond 7100
Bell on porch 7101
View of most of village from church 7102
Close-up of building not visible in above photo 7103
Detail on Green House 7104
Detail of porch/balcony railing 7105
Green House 7106
Blue House 7108
Other building with handicraft shop on main level 7109
Blue Church from below (edge of pavilion roof on upper right) 7110
Sign directing way to Indigenous Village 7111
Sign at entrance to Indigenous Village 7112
Bananas (plantains?) growing near sign 7113
Nikki and Nancy at entrance sign 7114
Hut directly opposite entrance sign 7115
Long view of village 7116
First hut past sign 7117
The first hut was a museum that had a warning sign at the door and displays inside showing things traditional to the indigenous culture(s).
Don’t Touch sign 7119
Displays:
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Plea for donations for the museum 7129
The next hut we went into was housed two artisan shops which had crafts from several indigenous groups for sale. We each bought a number of items from one or both vendors. I won’t include pictures of my purchases because some are for Christmas presents!
Sign specifying which groups’ handicrafts were being sold at one shop 7130
Other huts, closer view 7131
Interior of first hut looking straight inside 7134
Interior view looking to left 7135
Brass Plaque about the Indigenous Village 7136
Path leading from indigenous village to auxiliary area of village 7138
Pond with canoe 7139
Another structure (council area? funeral pyre? Other?) 7140
As was true at most other tourist spots, including museums, there was no printed guide or map to aid the visitor in understanding what each structure was for or any other background; that is why this is not very informative. In this case, the pictures will have to do the explanations. I said to Nikki and Nancy that it would be an ideal place to bring school groups and wondered why none were there since school was in session.
From the indigenous village we retraced our steps back toward the Spanish village. As we re-crossed the area of the Afroantillean village, about three school groups passed us and started up the stairs to the Blue Church. I hope they had an official guide with them; otherwise they would end up being as mystified about the function of the buildings as we were.
Along the paved driveway leading back to the Spanish village we passed a small building that was a souvenir/handicraft shop and of course we stopped to talk to the vendor, who was of the Kuna tribe, one of the indigenous groups of the interior of Panama, and look at his wares. He was very friendly and most informative about his people and the things he was selling. We all ended up buying quite a few things there.
I was especially delighted that he was selling molas because my goal for shopping in Panama was buying a mola so I examined these with interest. I’m including a photo of a small mola. Molas are the traditional craft of the Kuna people. Molas are made of cloth with bright colors against a usually black background and incorporate a kind of cut work behind which bright colors show in a pattern. The molas we saw had either traditional bird/animal patterns, geometric patterns, or modern motifs. I didn’t find the mola of my life there but bought a wonderful water bottle holder decorated with a mola. Nancy bought one, too. I think we are the only people on TSS who have mola water bottle holders because I haven’t seen any onboard and I never saw any for sale anywhere else.
Sample Mola 7650
We walked on toward the Spanish village and saw to our delight that several more handicraft shops that had been closed before were now open. Nancy and Nikki got caught up in a particular one and ended up buying many things there. It didn’t seem to have anything I wanted, though, so I walked on to the Spanish village, just a few yards away, and took more pictures.
The Spanish Village (again; it’s also the first photo on this posting) 7086
The Spanish village 7086The last room on the left side is a school room.
The Schoolroom 7141
The Church 7143
Interior of Church 7146
Living Quarters and Patio of Church 7147
Last Section on Right Side; lower floor is a cafeteria 7144
I looked around more but several shops in the building at the back were closed. Then I took a closer look in the shops. I think I bought postcards from one, but nothing more. Nikki and Nancy were still ensconced in the handicraft shop I’d left them in so I went back to see what was happening. They were finishing their purchases – many of them! Then we went to the Spanish village and they looked around. Then we decided to go into town and get something to eat.
We took a taxi to the Albrook Mall because TSS’s shuttle service stopped there. We went to the food court and ordered Panamanian food. It included rice, their staple (not tortillas like other Latin American countries), and sweetened fried plantains, which are like bananas. They had fresh fruit juice and I ordered Naranjilla. I still don’t know what it is but it tasted great! Then we walked around a bit until it was time to catch the shuttle back to TSS.
We certainly had had a much more pleasant day than our pirate experience of the day before.
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