We had family visiting this week, so it was the perfect excuse to visit Volcan and Cerro Punta. This is the second time we have taken the short cut via Potrerillos. It not only shaves 20-25 minutes off your drive time, the views are beautiful! From Boquete Garden Inn, the drive is only 1 hour and 15 minutes. The perfect day trip!
This time we finally stopped in at the Sitio Barriles, a site in Volcan with amazing artifacts from an ancient culture. This is a family home, so it can be a bit confusing at first: “What is this place exactly? Do they accept visitors? Are those dogs circling the car friendly?” (Yes, they are!)
And they do welcome visitors. This is a beautiful property that has revealed all sorts of treasures: petroglyphs, artifacts, pottery, 18 human sized statues (Now in Panama City. They are in the Reina Torres de Arauz Museum…but sadly, not on display). There is also an amazing tomb that was discovered seven years ago, with urns and other pieces embedded in the earth walls. Incredible! They also have magnetic stones on the property, thought to have healing properties. One of the magnetic basalt stones reveals drawings and designs only when wet.
National Geographic has profiled this property and over the years archeologists have been on-site to catalogue the numerous artifacts.
You can walk the property for $3 a person, or take the guided tour for $5 per person (Recommended! Otherwise, it’s just a stroll around beautiful grounds. The guides really bring it to life!)
This is an excellent opportunity to see museum quality pieces in a relaxed, beautiful setting.
Tours are available in English and Spanish and the property is open to the public seven days a week, from 7:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m. If you are staying at Boquete Garden Inn, just ask us for our Volcan/Cerro Punta map!
Edna Landau, granddaughter of William Frederick Houx. Houx came to Panama from the United States in 1925 and settled on the property that is now the Sitio Barriles. Edna is showing us a petroglyph which archeologists have determined is actually map of Volcan and routes to surrounding areas. The circle at bottom left of the stone represents Sitio Barriles. The squiggles to the right of the circle aren’t just squiggles – they indicate that this was a ceremonial centre.
