CINTA COSTERA

To cope with the saturation of Balboa Avenue, which ran along the Bay of Panama, it was decided to build a new road complex by gaining land on the sea. The Cinta Costera was inaugurated in 2009 and has transformed the coastal landscape, with an advance on the sea of more than 26 hectares. If you want to see the sea, look for the twin towers of the Miramar Hotel: they used to be right on the beach. The Cinta Costera is a set of traffic lanes (4 lanes in one direction and 6 in the other, including the old Balboa Avenue), fortunately bordered by a wide coastal promenade. The Cinta Cotera has made traffic flow more smoothly, but above all, pedestrians and sportsmen have finally been taken into account in a city that had totally ignored them until then! Large green spaces, sports fields and pedestrian and bicycle paths have allowed the inhabitants to make the seafront their own. You will see the monument dedicated to Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, the discoverer of the "Southern Sea" (the Pacific Ocean) in 1513. The Cinta Costera is invaded early in the morning by joggers and cyclists, and in the late afternoon and evening by families and groups of friends who come to play soccer or basketball, and to rollerblade. During the day, there is little life and it is easy to understand why: it is really too hot! The view on the Casco Viejo on one side and on the skyscrapers of Paitilla on the other is superb. There are no bars, but there are a few vendors selling sodas and raspa'o.

In 2014, the Cinta Costera was expanded with the much maligned construction of a viaduct around Casco Viejo, the Cinta Costera III. Most Casco Viejo residents, as well as UNESCO, were against the project, but President Martinelli ignored the protests. He did the irreparable with this road bypassing the old city, to connect the modern center and the Chorrillo. The colonial district has lost its beautiful skyline. On the other hand, coming from the fish market, you can walk there, for a nice view on the Casco Viejo. On the other side of the Casco, the promenade goes along the not very frequented neighborhood of Chorrillo until the entrance of the Causeway (the promenade is well secured). You can eat right on the beach, at the small restaurant complex "Sabores del Chorrillo", located next to the Maracaná stadium; very pleasant for a ceviche or grilled fish break! From there, it is possible to go to the Biodiversity Museum and to continue the walk until the end of Calzada de Amador.