点评:Most tourists who visit Panama City come for the canal, and this site may serve merely to round out their tourist experience or possibly to fill an empty afternoon. However, if you’re someone who likes old places, it’s well worth visiting this site which includes the ruins of the original Panama City. The ruins are fairly extensive and some remain surprisingly intact, given that the original city was methodically destroyed in 1671 either by the English or the Spanish, depending on which history you read, and the fact that the stones from some of the destroyed buildings were used to help build what is now known as Casco Viejo a few miles away. Also, the rainy and humid Panamanian climate is pretty tough on buildings. Among the more well-preserved buildings were a 17th century convent and a three-story cathedral in which a climb to the top revealed some excellent views of the modern city. Some of the ruined buildings have been refurbished recently, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re 350 years old, among the oldest European buildings in the western hemisphere.
There’s a shuttle bus that runs from the main ticket office to the ruins, but it’s also a pleasant walk. There are signs in both Spanish and English. There’s a fine museum that answered my questions as to why the Spanish built Panama City on the Pacific Coast rather than the Atlantic Coast which had never made sense to me before I came here. And there’s a small outdoor café where lunch is available. I visited on a Saturday during the rainy season, and there were quite a few visitors, mostly Panamanians I think, but it wasn’t crowded by any means. If you like ruins, it’s a solid five stars; if you visit merely to tick off a tourist box, probably three stars.
翻译:大多数游客到巴拿马城都是为了体验运河,而来这里可能只是为了完善他们的旅游体验,或者打发一个下午的空闲时间。但是,如果你喜欢古迹,那么这里绝对值得一游,这里有巴拿马城的原始遗址。遗址面积相当广阔,有些遗址保存得惊人,因为最初的城市在 1671 年被英国人或西班牙人有计划地摧毁,这取决于你阅读的是什么历史,而且一些被摧毁建筑的石料被用来建造几英里外的 Casco Viejo。此外,巴拿马多雨潮湿的气候对建筑也相当不利。保存较完好的建筑包括一座 17 世纪的修道院和一座三层高的大教堂,爬到顶部可以欣赏到现代城市的壮丽景色。一些废墟建筑最近进行了翻新,但这丝毫不会影响它们拥有350年历史的事实,它们位列西半球最古老的欧洲建筑之列。
从主售票处到废墟有往返班车,但步行也很惬意。路标上既有西班牙语也有英语。这里有一个很棒的博物馆,解答了我关于为什么西班牙人把巴拿马城建在太平洋海岸而不是大西洋海岸的问题。来这里之前,我一直不明白为什么。这里还有一家小型露天咖啡馆,提供午餐。我去的时候正值雨季,周六去的,游客不少,我想大部分都是巴拿马人,但人潮并不拥挤。如果你喜欢废墟,这里绝对值得五星好评;如果你只是为了满足游客的愿望而来,大概三星好评。