8-11 November 2001, Terry Helkenn and son Gene visited Alex Livingston at Mariato, Panama. Gene and Alex fished on Saturday 10th while Terry went sight seeing at Santiago and the 300 year old church at San Francisco. Alex and Gene caught 5 Wahoo in the 20-30 LB range and lost about as many much larger Wahoo. They also caught a 26 LB Dorado and a bunch of football size Yellow fin Tunas. Terry's 10 Nov sight seeing trip report and pic's are below.......
IGLESIA SAN FRANCISCO DE VERAGUAS About an hour and 15 minutes from the fishing lodge in the beautiful little town of San Francisco is one of the best and oldest examples of Baroque art and architecture in the Americas that was created by Indians using native materials. The beautifully carved alter and religious figures and scenes are made from ash and bitter cedar. One piece that fascinated me was the figure of an eagle piercing it's own heart with it's beak, the blood running down it's chest. The completion of this church is estimated to be 1727, almost 300 years old! The day that I visited all the pews had been removed and a major restoration or repair was going on; but the workers must have been off that Saturday, because Charley and I were the only ones around! All the artifacts were disassembled and removed from the walls. We had complete access and were amazed that no guards were present.I must go back to the Iglesia San Francisco de Veraguas some day to see the church once it's in use again!
