El Valle de Anton

El Valle de Anton

2 to 5 March 2007

After breakfast in our hotel's restaurant we walked for about thirty minutes to "La Piedra
Pintada" ("The Painted Rock"). The rock, a tourist attraction, has some squiggly lines carved
on it; nobody knows by whom, or when, or why. The rock was less than expected but it was a
pleasant walk down dirt roads and on a concrete path through the woods. There were a few
vendors along the way from whom Virginia bought some beaded costume jewelry.

Returning from "La Piedra Pintada" we looked at the modern church, notably different from
the very ornate colonial ones commonly seen in Latin America.

We also stopped in at the El Valle Museum (50 cents) displaying a small collection of
Pre-Columbian and historical artifacts.

Another visit was to the El Valle Public Library. A small building with a small book
collection, an enthusiastic librarian, and about twenty computers connected to the internet.
Books are lent to card-holders at no charge, computers are rented to anyone for US$1 per
hour. The librarian told us that the library was established and financed by a group of
public-spirited citizens. John donated his copy of "The Path Between the Seas", while I
with some guilt donated my totally useless copy of the "Bradt Travel Guide to Panama".

In the afternoon we took a half-hour walk to "El Nispero" a garden and zoo with a
surprisingly large exhibit of local and foreign flora and fauna, especially fowls and birds.
A very worthwhile visit.

Around mid-afternoon loud music started blaring from open-doored cars parked in the yard
next to our hotel, with twenty to thirty persons frolicking about. We were told it was a
birthday celebration. The music continued unabated until the afternoon of the following
day (Sunday). We were told that this kind of celebration takes place several weekends a
year. We made a mental note that if we come back to El Valle we get a hotel further from
the party-house/yard, perhaps the Hotel Don Pepe, which seems similar to our hotel.

El Valle's "Sunday Market" is highlighted in all the guidebooks and was well-known by many
Panamanians we met. It generally is considered El Valle's main attraction, and on Sundays
many people, including foreign and Panamanian tour groups, come to El Valle to visit that
market. My opinion is that it is worth visiting if you happen to be in town, but is not worth
a trip as the handicrafts at the market are duplicates of those sold in many Panamanian
souvenir shops and roadside stands. Below are four photos of El Valle's Sunday Market.