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Travel Related
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DAVID |
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 The
only one of three Spanish settlements founded in the area in 1602 to
survive repeated attacks from indigenous groups, DAVID developed slowly
as a marginal and remote outpost of the Spanish Empire - as late as 1732
it was overrun and destroyed by British-backed Miskito groups raiding
from Nicaragua. Only as settlement of Chiriquí increased in the
nineteenth century did David begin to thrive as a marketing and
transportation centre. Today, despite being a busy commercial city - the
third largest in Panamá - and the focus of Chiriquí's strong regional
identity, it retains a sedate provincial atmosphere. Hot and dusty, with
unexceptional modern architecture spread out on a well-planned grid (the
only surviving feature of the original colonial settlement), David has
few attractions but is a good place to break a journey between Panamá
City and Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro or the Chiriquí highlands - the last
can be visited as a day-trip, though it's much better to stay up in
Boquete or Cerro Punta if you have the time.
The Town
David centres on Parque Cervantes , a good place to relax with a freshly
squeezed sugar-cane juice and get your shoes shined in the shade of its
immense trees. Three blocks southeast of the parque down C A Nte on the
corner with Av 8 Este, the ...
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