When in Panama, don't be scared off by warnings about this beautiful, historic, and relatively undiscovered section of the city. True, you have to be reasonably careful, but if you avoid Casco Viejo, the old section of the city, rebuilt after Henry Morgan's pirates attacked the original city site in the mid 1500's, you will miss a true taste of the real, non-glitzy Panama. Wander through the winding, mysterious streets off of Avenida Central. See the ruins of old churches, convents, and other long abandoned sites. As you make your way to the Bovedas, a lovely lookout point at the tip of the peninsula, you will sample the tastes, smells, and sounds of what all of Panama was like a century or so ago. Beautiful, yet decaying old homes, slowly and carefully restored mansions, a beautiful cathedral and not to be missed Canal Museum await you in Casco Viejo...