Casco Viejo — Panama.
This year (2022) I’ve been spending some time in Panama City, as I am in the process of getting my residency.
There’s an area of Panama City called Casco Viejo, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a historic Spanish colonial city, founded in 1519.
It had previously been quite run down, but over the last fifteen years there have been major investments in the area, and a significant portion of the buildings have been restored.
Also, the official presidential home is in Casco Viejo, so there is a significant police presence, which makes it feel safe.
What is interesting is that Casco Viejo is that it is still going through the transformation of becoming a modern historical center, and so there are still a lot of buildings that have not been restored, often right next to buildings that have had a beautiful restoration.
This provides an interesting juxtaposition and highlights the old and the new side-by-side.
