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The Painted Rock: Petroglyphs and Rock Carvings dating back to the pre-Columbian era

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Modern life. Isn't it absolutely amazing the things that we humans have achieved in the last few thousand years? If you think about it, the amount of evolution that has taken place since the wheel was first invented is astounding! And we are all connected; every recent achievement has had a door opened by a previous achievement. Every story that is being told today has a preface that was written yesterday. This is but one reason that ancient art, cave paintings and carvings are so fascinating to us in the modern world. These gifts from ancient civilizations help us construct the timeline of where we were, where we are, and where we are going. One such gift is Piedra Pintada, the giant Painted Rock located in a far corner of Panama's Anton Valley, or El Valle de Anton.

Piedra Pintada is a giant rock, the largest of the petroglyphs and carvings found in the Valle de Anton dating back from the Pre-Columbian era possibly as many as 8000 years ago. The mystery of the stories they told way back then are still here as relics for us and for future generations to discover and try to decipher. Because the rock is so ancient, it is hard to say exactly what the message is but everyone has their own theory. In the archaeological world it is largely believed that the paintings are mainly artistic and religious in nature, while historians believe it might be a harvest calendar indicating tidal swings and the moon's influence. Still others think it is a rendering of the surrounding topography: mountains, rivers, and trails, making possibly a "trade map" of sorts. And there are even communities of people who believe some of the carvings depict UFOs and alien life. For a small donation of a few bucks, any of the local children will happily tell you their own version of the Piedra Pintada. Although entertaining, if archaeologists and historians have not yet been able to crack the code of petroglyphs at La Piedra Pintada, I highly doubt the knowledge of a 7 year old trustworthy.

Whatever it is, one thing is very clear: the Piedra Pintada in Panama has international attention, and everybody's got a theory on it!

The main rock is dubbed Piedra Pintada, however there are many others nearby which also bear markings. Piedra Pintada is the size of a small house, at roughly 10 feet high and 19 feet long, so it is hard to miss! In fact, the entrance to the Piedra Pintada is even wheelchair accessible! El Valle de Anton is also very accessible by bus or by car, so it's possible to make Piedra Pintada a quick stop to "check the box" on your Bucket List, or you could easily take the better part of a day here, hiking and exploring throughout Anton Valley. If you'd rather stick on the straight and narrow, the trail is well marked and easy to find, and the level of difficulty is low. If you are more adventurous, you may want to hire a guide and explore the nearby grounds and trails at the base of the India Dormida and up to some amazing views of the entire Anton Valley. Along the trails you can find numerous other rocks with markings just waiting to be interpreted.

Insider tip: While the region itself is relatively crime-free, there have been a lot of break-ins of cars in the parking lot. Therefore it is recommended that you take a taxi or a less expensive bus then just take the short walk to the base of the park. It is actually a very pleasant walk through a very stunning neighborhood full of lush gardens. If you want the full experience of El Valle de Anton, take a one day tour from Panama City.

It's no secret that ancient civilizations the world over have left us some fantastic finds, and that Central America is the lucky recipient of many such gifts. Were they leaving time capsules for future generations to find? Or were they just making maps and calendars? Who really knows why the Piedra Pintada petroglyphs exist? Maybe what fascinates us so is that we can't possibly know what the ancient people's true intention was... we can only look with new eyes as we discover more and more of what was left behind many hundreds and sometimes thousands of years ago. And maybe it's OK not to know, just to speculate. To explore the various options with the limited understanding we have, knowing that our understanding is limited, and let the questions hang in the air. From beyond the grave, the ancients know the answers to the questions we now have... they wrote the preface of our story for us, and we can physically go there and be with it now.

Was that on purpose, or just a happy accident? Either way, the gift of the Piedra Pintada in Panama is one of the best time capsules ever.

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Piedra Pintada: Mysterious Petroglyphs Anton Valley Panama | The Real Deal Tours

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Modern life. Isn't it absolutely amazing the things that we humans have achieved in the last few thousand years? If you think about it, the amount of evolution that has taken place since the wheel was first invented is astounding! And we are all connected; every recent achievement has had a door opened by a previous achievement.

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The Valley of Anton, a town on the floor of the 2nd largest inhabited volcano crater in the world.

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On weekends this quiet village comes to life as Panamanian weekenders and tourists from all over the world arrive to enjoy El Valle's famous arts and crafts market where locals and also many Kuna Yala Indians offer their colorful goods.

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Biodiversity Museum and Biodiversity Park located on the Amador Causeway

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Designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, the Biomuseo is his only work in Latin America and the tropics.

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A land bridge built with rocks from the Panama Canal that connects the mainland to 4 islands.

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Amador Causeway - One of the Coolest Places to Live and Hang Out in Panama City
Alright, I'm so excited about the launch of the site. I just got back from Amador Causeway with my daughters where we had a blast. I'm ready to tell you all about it.

For this Panama For Real location report, I'll be focusing on the Amador Causeway, a narrow land bridge that connects four islands by the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. The Causeway was created using rock extracted during the excavations of the canal. Nothing goes to waste here in Panama. If rock, sand, or dirt is taken from one area, it's usually used someplace else. In this case, it was used to create a really cool, breezy, hangout with water on both sides.

You'll notice that I've filed this report under "Beach Locations." Technically, this isn't a beach location. However, since everything in Amador sort of revolves around the water, from the marinas to the yacht clubs, The Causeway seems to fit better in the beach category than in any of the others.

Not all locations covered by Panama For Real will be places where you can realistically live. Some might just be tourist hotspots, where the lifestyle wouldn't make much sense for most people. Or we might cover places where only ROP (Right of Possession) real estate exists, rather than titled land and properties. Each location will be studied on a case by case basis, so that you not only discover the best places to live in Panama, but also the most exciting places to visit.

With Amador Causeway, you can realistically live there, and it would probably be an amazing lifestyle, if you can afford it. You'll find no lower income or even middle income housing on The Causeway. The only homes and condos you'll see for rent or for sale are top notch and will cost a pretty penny. I'll cover the cost of housing and the styles of housing a little bit later.

This report will probably be a little shorter than some of the others because you won't find many of the things you'll find in established towns in this country. You won't find schools, banks, or medical facilities on The Causeway. However, Amador Causeway is part of Panama City, so really, if you lived there, you'd have easy access to the best hospitals this country has to offer and Marbella's banking district, both areas only a quick drive or taxi ride away.

So what is this place all about?

When I first moved to Panama and I was complaining about the lack of things to do with kids here, everyone used to tell me to go to The Causeway. They'd talk about riding bikes along the water and stopping for ice cream. When I finally visited the area, I was blown away. I had no idea what I'd been missing. It's a great, open area for people to go for a stroll.

My wife works at ANATI, the government's land development department, which for the time being is located at the entrance to Amador Causeway. So I've spent many afternoons with the kids, hanging out on The Causeway while waiting for her to get off work. We've walked every square inch of the place and one thing's for sure, once you get out of the hectic city and onto The Causeway, stress seems to melt away.

It's a great place to go for a jog or any other kind of exercise. I've seen people out working one-on-one with their personal trainers, I've seen bicycle teams riding in formation, and I've seen walkers, joggers, and rollerbladers. People walk their dogs, and I couldn't believe it when I actually saw little stands with free bags for picking up your pet's poop. That's something I'd expect in Palm Beach or Beverly Hills, but that's very new and a great improvement here. Especially since I've fallen victim to the poo on my shoe situation in the past (not fun when you're in a sports bar watching the Saturday night fights with friends and can't figure out where the hell that smell is coming from). Eww, gross. I know.

One of my favorite things about the area is the ease at which you can rent bicycles and other fun forms of transportation. Just the other day, I rented a two seater bike with my daughters and we paid $9 for an hour. That's not bad. And you'll find larger bikes for larger groups. Check out the price list below to see what I'm talking about.

During our hour on the bike, we made it only about halfway down the rest of The Causeway when the storm that had been threatening to catch us, finally did, and the sky let loose with that sideways rain that's impossible to shield against. I couldn't even take pictures out of fear of the camera getting soaked.

We tried to keep going and workers driving by in trucks seemed to get a kick out of it as they pointed at us and giggled. Crazy gringos riding a bike in the rain. I thought we'd be okay with the little roof over our heads, but it just sloped downward and filled up with water like a fabric bucket, and yes, Dear Liza, our little bucket had a hole. By the time we got back to the bike rental place we were completely drenched. But it was a memory we won't forget. And who doesn't like to play in the rain from time to time?

On a sunny day you'll see groups of people out on those rental bikes and you'll see couples walking hand-in-hand. You can even rent scooters, four-wheelers, and little dune buggy like vehicles.

What else does the Amador Causeway offer?

Amador is home to some of the best restaurants in Panama City and you won't believe the variety you'll find there. I saw Panamanian restaurants, Indian, Mexican, Colombian, and just about everything else, from pizza to BBQ ribs to burgers. Check out our video on Amador Causeway to see a lot of them close up.

The nightlife on the causeway is some of the best around, and it caters to all age groups. At all of the plazas up and down the boardwalk you'll find nice restaurants and great places for evening cocktails. At Zona Viva, or what's also called Zona de la Rumba, old military buildings, sit in two parallel lines, facing each other, creating an alleyway down the center where the party crowd can sashay from club to club, all while in a controlled environment.

You'll be charged a small fee to enter the Zona Viva alley (I think just a couple of bucks) and then you're free to bounce from place to place. Most of these clubs don't charge to enter, and you're welcome to hang out at the bar or on the dance floor, but if you'd like to have a table, you'll usually need to buy a $30 bottle of vodka or rum (a bottle that would cost about $9 in the store).

Most of the other entertainment provided on the strip consists of outdoor activities. Aside from the jogging and biking and all the other stuff I've already mentioned, you'll also find a small paddle ball/tennis court and a new enclosed futbol or soccer field. Plus, you will find the Biodiversity Museum and even the Figali Convention Center, which is where most artists perform when they visit. Justin Bieber was just there last week (and it's all I heard about from my daughters).

Behind the Zona Viva area, the government is building a brand new convention center that looks really cool. It's taking the place of the ATLAPA center. I'm telling you, when Panama City finishes all of its additions and renovations, this place is going to look totally different. From the Metro train system being built, to all the new malls and shopping centers, to the brand new plaza on its way to the center of Costa del Este to this new convention center, Panama City is being completely transformed.

One other sight you might want to check out while you're in the area is the Culture and Ethnic Communities Plaza. This interesting looking monument was built to celebrate Panama's first 100 years of Republican existence. Plaques there tell you all about the heritage of all the nations that have played a role in Panama's growth and development.

One other form of entertainment that you'll find on the causeway (not something that I'd usually consider entertainment) is shopping. However, most of the shopping that you'll find is for souvenirs. There's definitely no shortage of souvenir shops. They're in nearly every plaza and you'll even find a handicraft market near the Figali Center.

This place has everything from beaded jewelry to Panama hats to hammocks. You can find just about any kind of Panamanian souvenir you might be looking for. There's even a small lunch counter. It's definitely a nice place to escape the sun for a little while and check out the vendors' wares.

If you're planning a trip to the causeway and you're considering staying overnight, I saw four hotels in the area. Only three of them have websites though. I'll list them below.

Country Inn & Suites: http://www.countryinns.com/panama-city-hotel-pa-8001/pancanal

The Beach House La Playita Resort and Marina: http://www.thebeachhousepanama.com/

Amador Ocean View Hotel & Suites: http://www.amadoroceanview.com/

Fuerte Amador Resort & Marina (couldn't find a website for this one)

And if you happen to travel around on a yacht, or just need a place to park your boat, Amador Causeway is home to Balboa Yacht Club and two great marinas. At Balboa Yacht Club, which is located near the beginning of Amador Causeway, over by the Country Inn & Suites and Friday's restaurant, you'll find a popular expat gathering place. During most holidays you'll find foreigners gathered together to celebrate the festivities. They've even hosted rib contests and chili cookoffs. Check out their website at http://www.balboayachtclub.com for information on using the marina and upcoming events.

Parking at the Balboa Yacht Club

The two other marinas are the Flamenco Marina and La Playita. If you're planning to stop by, whether to drop off supplies, make a quick pit stop, or to stay awhile, it's a good idea to give them a heads up and make sure they have space for you. You can do that by emailing the marina of your choice. Email Flamenco Marina at marina@fuerteamador.com or La Playita at laplayita@siwireless.com.

Speaking of boats, Amador Causeway is the place you want to go if you have plans to travel to Isla Taboga or Contadora (The Pearl Islands). Tour companies are everywhere on The Causeway and the port to head out to these islands is behind The Beach House La Playita hotel.
What would it be like to live there?
Whether you arrive at the causeway by car, taxi, bus, or even boat, you're sure to have a great time.

Living on Amador Causeway would be awesome. It has some of the best dining options, some of the best nightlife party spots, and one of the most relaxing places in Panama City. The best part is you're set apart from the loud noise and the hustle and bustle of the city, but you're still so close that you could easily take a ten minute taxi to downtown.

If you have kids, they could attend school in nearby Albrook at St. Mary's or in Clayton at Balboa Academy. See my school post in the More Nuts & Bolts page above for other nearby schools. If you need to be near a hospital, Hospital Punta Pacifica ( www.hospitalpuntapacifica.com) is very close, as is Centro Medico Paitilla. The banking district is right around the corner, and if you just need quick cash, I saw two ATM machines in town.

Safety isn't something you'd need to worry about living here (or visiting). Cops are everywhere at the Amador Causeway. If they're not parked on the side of the road either in cruisers or on motorcycles, you'll find them cruising up and down the boardwalk on bicycles. And they randomly stop and ask people for their identification too, just to make sure everyone is on the up and up. I've never been hassled by the cops, but I've seen them check out other people hanging around the boardwalk.

The roads on The Causeway are smooth, electricity, cable TV, and Internet are all very dependable, and water is drinkable from the tap. Infrastructure is sound along the causeway. This is a tourist's playground and a great, safe neighborhood for some of the city's elite. So you know everything is in tip-top shape.

As far as real estate goes, you won't find a large variety of homes and condos to choose from, should you choose to settle down in this breezy area with amazing views, but what you'll find is extravagant. This is some of the best living you'll find in or around Panama City.

At the entrance to the area you'll see a sign for Amador Heights, which is one of the few neighborhoods located on The Causeway. From this neighborhood, most houses and condos have a clear view of the Bridge of the Americas and the Panama Canal. The houses and condos are pricey though. I did some checking and the cheapest condo I found was in the building in the photo above, and it was renting for $2,000 per month.

The homes here are large, nearly mansions. I'm no real estate expert, but I think it's safe to assume these homes are going for well over $500,000. I looked online and couldn't find any for sale, but I found a condo going for $350,000. The link to that listing on www.compreoalquile.com is here, but you know how real estate goes, it might be gone before you reach it. Either way, that condo for sale is located in the photo you see above. That should give you an idea of what's on hand in the Amador area.

Well that's it for this written report on Amador Causeway. I hope you've learned a little bit about the area. It's a great place to visit and a would be an amazing place to live.

Don't forget to check out the Amador Causeway Video Report here.

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Amador Causeway - One of the Coolest Places to Live and Hang Out in Panama City Alright, I'm so excited about the launch of the site. I just got back from Amador Causeway with my daughters where we had a blast. I'm ready to tell you all about it.

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10 Things to Experience in Panama's Historic Old Quarter and a little history of Panama

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Panama isn't just about tropical headgear and the world's greatest shortcut - its jungles and crumbling colonial ports conceal a history of gold and plunder on the Spanish Main. Explore the swashbuckling history of Panama and its rich wildlife with Lonely Planet Traveller magazine. Words by Roff Smith; photographs by Mark Read.

It's kind of spooky in the jungle, sweaty and dank, with deep growls of thunder adding a theatrical touch of menace to a shadowy old mule path. Framed by palm fronds and the trunk of a gigantic cuipo tree, the scene could be an engraving in an old, old book. All you'd need is for one of those grand turn-of-the-century illustrators to paint in a few of their trademark pirates or some haughty conquistadors in peaked helmets and shiny cuirasses, and you'd have yourself a swell cover illustration for a Boy's Own tale of snakes, jungles and lost Incan treasure. And well you might. After all, this is the real deal: a seven-mile stretch of the old Camino de Cruces, the legendary Spanish treasure trail across the Isthmus of Panama, and a setting for one of the Golden Age of Piracy's most swashbuckling tales: the sack of Panama City by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671.

The sack of Panama City

It didn't seem possible for even the toughest pirate captain to lead his band of cutthroats through seventy miles of pestilential jungle and launch a successful attack on one of Spain's wealthiest New World treasure ports. But in 1671 the 'privateer' (an important step up the social ladder from a common pirate) made good his threat, assembling an armada of 38 ships off the pirate island of Hispaniola and recruiting more than 2000 ruthless buccaneers to the cause - English, French, Dutch, virtually every pirate in the Caribbean. Their destination was the rich mainland coast of Spain's empire in the Americas.

Wreaking a trail of havoc along the way, the pirates sacked the fortress at San Lorenzo, on Panama's Caribbean coast. From there they turned inland, up the Chagres River and along this cobbled old jungle path to where Panama City lay waiting, in splendid isolation, aloof on the Pacific side. Every year, fabulous Incan treasures would arrive at this port - tonnes of gold and precious stones from Peru, silver from the fabled mines at Potosí - where they were stockpiled before being shipped on to Spain. Here was a prize well worth the taking, or at least it would have been if the governor had not been tipped off that the pirates were on their way.

As it was, most of the good stuff was packed onto galleons, to be hidden away in the Islas de las Perlas, a jewel-like archipelago of 220 tropical islands, 30 miles out in Panama Bay, where Panama City's wealthiest citizens - those who could afford the panic-rates being charged to get out there - took refuge themselves. The pirates struck at dawn, on 28 January 1671, emerging from the jungle and swiftly overwhelming the town's outnumbered defenders. A month-long orgy of fire, torture and pillage followed before finally, like sated locusts, the pirate hordes left, carrying their booty back down the trail to where their fleet waited on the Caribbean shore, leaving Panama City's dazed citizenry to wander amongst the ruins of what had once been their homes.

Panama today

A lot of rainy seasons have come and gone over the old Camino de Cruces since Morgan passed this way. While the jungle remains as sinister as ever, now it's part of the Soberanía National Park, a vast wilderness better known for plumage than plunder, with a world record 525 species of bird having been recorded in a single day. And where Morgan and his men camped in a misery of mud and mosquitoes where the trail met the Chagres River, modern hikers are within musket range of a five-star eco resort or an easy half-hour's drive back to the boutique hotels, cafés and jazz bars in the Casco Viejo, Panama City's fashionably crumbly colonial quarter - where they still won't serve Captain Morgan rum.

But nowhere are the changes more apparent than along the Chagres River itself, dammed in 1913 to form Gatun Lake, as part of the Panama Canal project. At 164 square miles, the lake was the world's largest man-made body of water when it was created. Much of the route Morgan followed is now submerged; to tread the pirate trail through modern Panama, you need to transit the canal. More than a million ships have passed through the world's most flamboyant shortcut since it opened in 1914, and waiting to add to that tally on this thundery morning is a sightseeing vessel called the Pacific Queen, its decks bright with tourists in souvenir Panama hats, snapping photos and gazing across the water at the shimmering glass-and-steel skyline of Panama City, which looks more like Singapore or Miami than the steamy adventure port of popular imagination.

Once practically a by-word for glamorous danger, Panama City has blossomed into one of Latin America's most cosmopolitan cities, a glitzy banking capital and a honeypot for real estate tycoons, property developers and well-heeled North American retirees looking for tropical sunshine, an expatriate lifestyle and a safe place to berth their yachts away from the hurricanes that beset the usual run of Caribbean tax havens.

Built on cutlass and plunder

In Panama City's old colonial quarter, I find myself in the incense-sweetened nave of St Joseph's church, whose magnificent altar of gilded mahogany survived the pirate siege by being daubed in mud to look as though it had already been stripped of its gold. In what must have been as fine a piece of acting as any this side of an Oscar, the priest at the time not only convinced Morgan there was nothing left to steal in his church, but, local lore has it, even sweet-talked the hardened buccaneer into donating a bit of gold for its refurbishment. This same legend has a bemused and sceptical Morgan handing over his donation with the words: 'I have a feeling you're more of a pirate that I am.' Perhaps he was. They were all pirates in those days. After all, Panama itself was built on cutlass and plunder.
This article was first published in March 2013 and was republished in August 2013.

Roff Smith is an author and travel writer, and has reported on Cameroon and the Cook Islands for Lonely Planet Traveller.

Pick up a copy of Lonely Planet Traveller magazine for more dazzling photos, practical tips and travel inspiration.

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Discover Panama's swashbuckling history - Lonely Planet

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Panama isn't just about tropical headgear and the world's greatest shortcut - its jungles and crumbling colonial ports conceal a history of gold and plunder on the Spanish Main. Explore the swashbuckling history of Panama and its rich wildlife with Lonely Planet Traveller magazine. Words by Roff Smith; photographs by Mark Read.

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Archaeological Site of Panama and Historic District. Founded in 1519, it is the oldest European settlement

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Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá

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Founded in 1519 by the conquistador Pedrarías Dávila, Panamá Viejo is the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. It was laid out on a rectilinear grid and marks the ...