Parita

Ten kilometers from Chitre' is the tiny town of Parita.  There is nothing to do in Parita, no place to stay, one small cantina and a few places to get a bottle of agua.  There are no tourists here, nothing at all.  What Parita does have to offer is a window into the past.

To stand at the church yard in Parita and look around is to gaze back into time.  There are rows of timbered buildings that have not changed much since the colonial times.  The church itself is an oddity in that the bell tower is built directly over the entry door, unlike any other church in Panama.  Most of the bell towers in Panama are built at the corner of the church to support the massive weight of the tower.  According to the Lonely Planet, the locals have been expecting it to fall down since the 1700's when the church was erected.  I did not get a chance to coorborate this story with anyone, but such is the tale.  

The magic of the place was enhanced by the grouping of Carnival float figures that were scattered about the grass churchyard.  

I ennded my walk at the cemetery and then turned back for the bus ride home to Chitre'