Photos: Archeological signs in El Valle de Antón, Panama

Part of what my son loves about travel is discovering old cities. He has inherited my sense of trying to be like Indiana Jones. When we visited Panama City, he had a grand time in the old city section discovering the old city ruins.

We got a chance to travel outside of Panama City to a valley called Anton. He used to be a crater lake a log, long time ago.   It is now a charming little town in the valley where you feel you have been transported in time.   we put my sons Indiana Jones exploring outfit on and off we went on a hike up the “la India Dormida” [the sleeping Indian) named so because of its rugged outline.  While hiking we came across the “Piedra Pintada” [the painted rock].  Upon the rocks, the painted aspect were the petroglyphs that remain undeciphered. Supposedly, many of the locals  believe that these painted rocks serve as a map of where the different tribes had been located.

My son saw the pictures and wondered who had left them and where did the people go? I explained that it was a mystery. He thought about it and swung about.  He wondered if he could replicate these in the worlds he builds in his Minecraft game.  I let him know perhaps he could copy them. However, these were very special signs for which we still had to figure out its meaning.

In looking over these photos now, he wonders if we will ever know who made them.  I told him we may not, but the point is to try to keep figuring out the past so we can avoid some of those past mistakes in the future.

Here is a more detailed view

Another view