Walking the streets of Panama City’s old quarter it is sometimes hard to remember that just a few kilometres away there lies a bustling and densely populated area of high-rise office blocks, choking traffic jams and unbridled commerce.
White and cream-painted houses with red-tiled roofs and balconies brimming with plants line the narrow roads, creating shade from the intense sun. Black women in long skirts sell pixvae, a fibrous and pungent fruit from a native palm. Artsy cafes are gradually opening to the area’s growing middle-class population.
