Indeed, the volcanic soil and microclimates make the highlands one of the world’s finest producers of coffee, including “geisha beans,” reputed to be the very best. North of Boquete sits the highly photogenic Finca Lérida, a 650-acre working coffee plantation that you can tour, established in 1922 by a Norwegian engineer involved in building the Panama Canal (see p. 979). The family home is a bed-and-breakfast, and a new eco-lodge offers outstanding views of the lush, mountainous landscape.
On the western slope of Volcán Baru, Panama’s highest peak, the village of Cerro Punta provides the best Panamanian access to La Amistad International Park (PILA), which spills over into neighboring Costa Rica. It’s enormous—511,508 acres on the Panama side alone—and a refuge for jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, and 400 bird species.
WHERE: Boquete is 280 miles/450 km west of Panama City. HOW: U.S.-based International Expeditions leads a 9-day trip that includes Chiriqui Highlands. Tel 800-633-4734 or 205-428-1700; www.ietravel.com. Cost: from $4,098. Originates in Panama City. PANAMONTE INN: Tel 507/720-1324 or 800-525-4800; www.panamonte.com. Cost: from $340; dinner $40. COFFEE ESTATE INN: Tel 507/720-2211; www.coffeeestateinn.com. Cost: $145. FINCA LÉRIDA: Tel 507/720-2285; www.fincalerida.com. Cost: $150. BEST TIMES: Nov–Apr for finest weather. In Boquete: mid-Jan for Flowers and Coffee Festival; Feb for Jazz Festival; mid-Apr for Orchid Festival.
An Independent Community Follows Its Ancient Ways
SAN BLAS ISLANDS
Comarca Kuna Yala, Panama
In a gorgeous seascape of small, idyllic islands along the northeastern Caribbean coast of Panama, the Kuna Indians, considered one of the most intact indigenous societies in the Americas, still live according to their ancient ways. Also known as the San Blas archipelago, this semiautonomous region (comarca) is officially called Kuna Yala, or “Land of the Kuna Indians.” They are a proud, tightly knit people who number some 50,000, and who are governed by three tribal chiefs, or caciques. Kuna society is a matriarchal one, and the women are known for their elaborate adornment: gold jewelry, beads covering their legs and arms, and vividly colored, hand-stitched blouses appliquéd with molas, multiple layers of colorful fabric whose geometric designs are meant to mimic the body art that early European missionaries forced them to give up.
The Kuna Yala homeland consists of a narrow strip of coastal mainland and some 365 coral islands and keys, most of them uninhabited. Guests can stay with local island families in simple dwellings with limited or no electricity for next to nothing, or in a growing number of small, rustic inns owned and run by the Kuna. Some offer no more than a hammock to sleep in and lack even hot water, while the most modern, such as Kuna-owned and -run Yandup Island Lodge and Akwadup Lodge, each on its own small island, feature comfortable, thatched cabins, some over water. No diving is allowed within the protected waters of the comarca, but guests can spend languid days swimming, snorkeling, and visiting deserted, white sand beaches, as well as traditional Kuna villages, cemeteries, and markets. Simple but satisfying meals are generally based on fresh fish from the sea.
Sea kayaking is the most adventuresome way to explore the less visited islands, and Mountain Travel Sobek was the first of the few “outside” outfitters allowed to lead overnight kayaking trips in Kuna Yala. A motor-boat whisks you to a remote outer archipelago, where you’ll board a kayak and set off to find the best spots for snorkeling, camp on uninhabited islands, and visit far-flung Kuna villages as an honored guest.
If diving is a must, stay outside the comarca at the mainland Coral Lodge, where you can swim and snorkel right off your bungalow’s sundeck or arrange for diving trips outside the protected waters, as well as day trips to the Kuna Yala islands. The six traditional thatch-roofed bungalows sitting over water also offer the rare commodity of air-conditioning.
The brightly colored molas are an integral part of Kuna culture.
WHERE: 50 miles/81 km northeast of Panama City. YANDUP ISLAND LODGE: Tel 507/394-1408; www.yandupisland.com. Cost: from $185, all-inclusive. AKWADUP LODGE: Tel 507/396-4805; www.sanblaslodge.com. Cost: $300, all-inclusive. MOUNTAIN TRAVEL SOBEK: In the U.S., tel 888-831-7526 or 510-594-6000; www.mtsobek.com. Cost: 8 days (5 nights camping), $2,495, inclusive. Originates in Panama City. When: Dec–Mar. CORAL LODGE: In the U.S., 800-950-2862 or 305-383-8071; www.corallodge.com. Cost:$220. BEST TIMES: Dec–Mar for nicest weather; Jul–Oct is rainy season but diving is good.
The World’s Most Famous Shortcut
PANAMA CANAL
Panama City to Colón, Panama
Built across the narrowest point between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Panama Canal is one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. It stretches 50 miles from Panama City to Colón, and took first France, then the U.S., 65,000 workers and 20 years to build. Centuries of bankruptcy, mismanagement, and malaria delayed the project a number of times after the idea was first proposed in 1524 by King Charles V of Spain. But nearly 400 years later, on August 15, 1914, the SS Ancon became the first ship to sail from one side to the other. Today countless cruise and commercial ships line up for the 8- to 10-hour journey. Today’s ships are so big that the canal is being expanded by 2014, in time for its centennial.
The comprehensive museum at the Miraflores Visitors Center, just yards from the locks, features interactive displays and a mesmerizing view from its restaurant. To truly enjoy the canal, though, consider a partial or full transit boat tour lasting 4 to 8 hours.
Located at the canal’s southern end, cosmopolitan Panama City is a rich base for exploring the area. The romantic, 17th-century Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) is a city-within-a-city gradually being revived; of the growing number of boutique hotels occupying restored buildings here, the first was the Canal House, an 1893 mansion whose three elegantly appointed suites deliver contemporary style and plenty of amenities. Stroll through Plaza Bolívar, known for its charming sidewalk cafés, and dine at Manolo Caracol, popular for its ever-changing 12-course menu.
Just 10 minutes from the modern downtown, Natural Metropolitan Park is the world’s only tropical rain forest within city limits. The birding opportunities are impressive here, but it gets even better at Soberania Park, the species-rich rain forest that runs alongside the canal and is an easy 15-mile drive from Panama City. Pipeline Road, the canal’s former service road, is unmatched for birding; it holds the world’s record for the greatest numbers of bird species identified in a 24-hour period—a staggering 360 (of the 500 known to thrive here). In the heart of the park is Gamboa Rainforest Resort, a luxurious, 107-room riverside hotel that includes 38 villas from the 1930s that once served as homes for Canal administrators. Both of its nearby sister properties—Canopy Tower (a refurbished, five-story former U.S. radar station, also within the park) and the more comfortable Canopy Lodge—serve avid birders with tree-top viewing platforms and expert guides.
INFO: Tel 507/276-8325; www.pancanal.com. MIRAFLORES: Tel 507/232-3120. Cost: lunch $40. HOW: Canal & Bay Tours offer partial and full transits. Tel 507/209-2009; www.canalandbaytours.com. THE CANAL HOUSE: Tel 507/228-1907; in the U.S., 888-593-5023; www.canalhousepanama.com. Cost: from $205. MANOLO CARACOL: Tel 507/228-4640; www.manolocaracol.net. Cost: dinner $25. GAMBOA RAINFOREST RESORT: Tel 507/314-9000; in the U.S., 877-800-1690; www.gamboaresort.com. Cost: from $250. CANOPY LODGE and CANOPY TOWER: Tel 507/264-5720; in the U.S., 800-930-3397; www.canopytower.com. Cost: from $300 (off-peak), from $440 (peak), inclusive. BEST TIMES: Dec–Apr for dry season; Jan for Jazz Festival; Feb–Mar for Carnaval in Panama City.
SOUTH AMERICA AND ANTARCTICA
“Hard to believe Buenos Aires had any beginning. I feel it to be as eternal as the air.”—JORGE LUIS BORGES
BUENOS AIRES
Argentina
Buenos Aires is the sultry capital of Argentina, a cosmopolitan hub rising where the Pampas meet the Río de la Plata. A heady mix of Italian, French, Spanish, and other cultural influences, this vibrant, elegant city sometimes makes you wonder where you are. The rhythm is
definitely Latin America, but the architecture and the glamour will have you thinking Europe.
TOP ATTRACTIONS
SAN TELMO ANTIQUES MARKET—Known as the Feria de San Pedro Telmo, this Sunday-only event spills out from Plaza Dorrego, the heart of San Telmo, one of Buenos Aires’s oldest neighborhoods. Antiques stalls, souvenir vendors, and street performers fill the plaza and continue up and down Calle Defensa, the area’s main thoroughfare, which is lined with antiques stores and cafés. The real highlights are the tango dancers who perform in a corner of the plaza, holding the crowds in thrall with dancing that can go on till night. INFO: www.feriadesantelmo.com.
CEMETARIO RECOLETA—The most visited location in all of Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery (which opened in 1822) is the final resting place for Argentina’s elite and, with unmistakable irony, the woman most famous for challenging them: María Eva Duarte de Perón, better known to the world as Evita. Most tourists come only to catch a quick glimpse of her simple black granite tomb, covered in plaques, including one imploring Argentina not to cry for her, then head to the nearby neighborhood of Palermo, where the Museo Evita puts her love of her people on display. The café is worth an hour of your time. MUSEO EVITA: Tel 54/11-4807-9433; www.museoevita.org.
Though she died in 1952, Evita’s body wasn’t buried for over 20 years.
MUSEO DE ARTE LATINO AMERICANO DE BUENOS AIRES (MALBA)—A vast, steel-and-glass, light-filled space, MALBA, as it’s known, is as much a work of art as anything it exhibits. Departing from the Eurocentric thrust of so many of Argentina’s museums, this one is devoted to Latin American art, including works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Antonio Siguí, Antonio Berni, and contemporary Argentine artists. INFO: Tel 54/11-4808-6500; www.malba.org.ar.
MUSEO NACIONAL DE BELLAS ARTES—The National Fine Arts Museum has utilitarian roots—it was originally a water pumping station—but now contains the largest collection of Argentine art in the world, along with surprisingly varied holdings by European masters such as Rodin, Renoir, and Toulouse Lautrec, along with a broad range of Picasso drawings. Opened in 1930, the museum reflects the tastes of the wealthy Argentines who roamed the world at the beginning of the 20th century, looking to augment their art collections. INFO: Tel 54/11-5288-9900; www.mnba.org.ar.
TEATRO COLÓN—When it opened in 1908 the Teatro Colón opera house was Buenos Aires’s pronouncement to the world that she was ready to compete with the best of Europe. The building features abundant marble, bronze, wood carvings, and stained glass imported from Europe. The centerpiece of the main (3,000-seat) theater is an enormous chandelier hanging from a domed ceiling adorned with frescoes by Argentine artist Raúl Soldi. In 2010 architect Victor Meano completed a sumptuous renovation. But the building is merely a magnificent backdrop: Some of the world’s greatest singers and performers have graced this stage, from Enrico Caruso to Maria Callas to Plácido Domingo. INFO: ticket office, tel 54/11-4378-7344; www.teatrocolon.org.ar.
Teatro Colón, considered to be among the finest acoustic venues in the world, opened in 1908 with a performance of Aida.
EL METEJÓN POLO CLUB—You’d never know Argentina didn’t invent polo if you drive an hour southwest of Buenos Aires to El Metejón, one of the country’s top polo resorts. If you’re game, sign up for the intensive classes run by the resort’s instructors; you’ll find it strenuous, but that’s why the resort has a spa, pool, and 12 luxury suites on the grounds of this estancia-style getaway. If you’d rather sit on the sidelines, come any time from October to December, when the championships take place in Buenos Aires’s Palermo district, and watch professionals practice. WHERE: Cañuelas, 30 miles/48 km southwest of B.A. Tel 54/2226-432-260; www.elmetejon.com.ar. Cost: from $600 (off-peak), from $800 (peak), all-inclusive.
FERIA DE MATADEROS—Held opposite the National Cattle Market in the Mataderos neighborhood, this spirited street fair brings a nostalgic taste of the campo, or countryside, into the city. The feria takes place on Sundays year-round, but it is so popular that in late summer (February and March) it is held on Saturdays as well. Antiques dealers and food vendors fill the streets, folkloric dancers entertain the crowds, and gauchos in full regalia ride into town performing the Carrera de Sortija, a wild ride of a game in which they attempt to use a small stick to spear hanging rings at full gallop. INFO: Tel 54/11-4342-9629; www.feriademataderos.com.ar.
WHERE TO STAY
THE ALVEAR PALACE HOTEL—All luxury hotels in Buenos Aires are compared to the Alvear, the city’s classic 1929 grande dame in the center of exclusive Recoleta. The hotel brims with multicolored marble, gilded bronze, Louis XV furniture, and other precious details that somehow manage to escape stuffiness. Each room comes with round-the-clock butler service, and the hotel’s La Prairie spa sprawls for over 8,000 square feet. La Bourgogne, overseen by chef Jean Paul Bondoux, is the city’s finest French dining venue, while brunch at L’Orangerie is a scrumptious local tradition. INFO: Tel 54/11-4808-2100; www.alvearpalace.com. Cost: from $450; dinner at La Bourgogne $100.
THE BOBO HOTEL—You have to love a hotel that can make fun of itself—BoBo is short for “bourgeois bohemian,” the ironic term for members of the privileged classes who adopt countercultural pretensions. Still, you’ll find plenty of elegance at this 1920s mansion in the very heart of trendy Palermo Soho. Step into the tranquil lobby—and you’ll feel instantly transported, though upstairs you’ll still see evidence of the hip neighborhood beyond: Each of the seven well-designed rooms is uniquely styled and named to reflect modern art movements. INFO: Tel 54/11-4774-0505; www.bobohotel.com. Cost: from $175.
THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL—Located in the well-heeled Recoleta neighborhood, this hotel is built in two sections—there’s the 12-story Park Tower, which houses all the guest rooms, distinguished by their elegant refinement, some with beautiful views over Nueve de Julio Boulevard. Then there’s the 1916 La Mansión, whose seven private suites are popular with movie stars and dignitaries (the mansion’s balcony is where Madonna practiced “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” when filming Evita). The restaurant Le Mistral is known for its Mediterranean-influenced international cuisine. INFO: Tel 54/11-4321-1200; www.fourseasons.com. Cost: from $545; dinner at Le Mistral $75.
HOME HOTEL—This unconventional hotel fits perfectly among the lively nightclubs, bars, and restaurants of the very hip Palermo Hollywood neighborhood that serves as its setting. With a playful, of-the-moment aesthetic, a spa, poolside bar and restaurant, and seriously stylish rooms, Home is in fact home to many visiting celebs and entertainment execs (one of the owners is a DJ and record producer). Despite its in-the-know clientele, the hotel maintains its cool—the vibe here is mellow and the emphasis is on the comfortable side of high design. INFO: Tel 54/11-4778-1008; www.homebuenosaires.com. Cost: rooms from $140.
LEGADO MITICO—Each of the 11 large guest rooms here is meant to evoke a different historic Argentine personality, from Eva Perón to tango singer extraordinaire Tita Morello, and the results are showcases of design filled with sumptuous furnishings. Public rooms—a huge library, fireplace nook, and two terraces—are no less extraordinary, adding to the rich distinctive ambience. INFO: Tel 54/11-4833-1300; www.legadomitico.com. Cost: from $240 (off-peak), from $300 (peak).
THE PALACIO DUHAU PARK HYATT—Incorporating the former 1930s mansion of the aristocratic Duhau family, this hotel quickly became popular for the unique way it bridged old and new. Accommodations in the mansion have such classic touches as heavy wooden French doors with brass trim, while the second building, a 17-story tower, maintains a warm modernity and offers fantastic views from many of the rooms. The hotel has four restaurants, including the Duhau, known for its Argentine steaks and farm-to-table cuisine; the Oak Bar is decorated with 17th-century carvings from a castle in Normandy. And there’s always afternoon tea, an elaborate affair so abundant you may well have to cancel your dinner reservation. INFO: Tel 54/11-5171-1234; www.buenosaires.park.hyatt.com. Cost: from $425; dinner at the Duhau $75.
EATING & DRI
NKING
BUENOS AIRES STEAK HOUSES—Argentina is world famous for the quality of its beef, and Buenos Aires’s most characteristic dining experience is found at parillas (grills), where excellent steaks (as well as asado, a mixed grill of a variety of meat, including sweetbreads, kidneys, and brains) are grilled over glowing coals. A long-time favorite with local VIPs and discerning out-of-towners, La Cabaña Las Lilas serves some 90 tons of steak annually from steers raised on its 17,000-acre estancia along with an excellent selection of local wines. Founded in 1905, today’s restaurant occupies a converted waterfront warehouse in the gentrified docks area of Puerto Madero. Dark-paneled, two-story La Cabaña is another Buenos Aires classic, with a dining room that feels like a swank Patagonian lodge. The grill is front and center—you pass it as you enter the restaurant, and its location allows you to watch your food being prepared. La Cabrera represents a more casual and contemporary parilla experience, in keeping with its address in trendy Palermo Soho. The whimsically decorated dining room is always bustling and the beef is excellent—as are the abundant side dishes, from salads to mushrooms to pumpkin puree. LA CABAÑA LAS LILAS: Tel 54/11-4313-1336; www.laslilas.com.ar. Cost: dinner $65. LA CABAÑA: Tel 54/11/4814-0001; www.lacabanabuenosaires.com.ar. Cost: dinner $85. LA CABRERA: Tel 54/11-4831-7002; www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar. Cost: dinner $45.
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