Portobelo and Panama Canal, Colon, Panama
This morning we had the opportunity to visit the town of Portobelo, just a few miles east of the entrance to the Canal. The city of Portobelo was established at the end of the 16th century by the Spanish Crown. After the conquest of the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro thousands of tons of gold and silver poured into Panama on its way to Spain every year. In order to control the traffic of precious metals through the Isthmus of Panama, the Spanish bureaucracy established a customs house and built heavily armed fortresses in the bay. Throughout most of the 17th and 18thth centuries Portobelo became one of the major centers of trade in the Spanish Empire until it was abandoned in the mid 1850’s. Nowadays, Portobelo is nothing more than a small fishing village, but the restored customs house, the coral walls of the fortresses with its rusted cannons and the colonial church serve as a reminder of the splendor the city enjoyed for centuries.
We had pizza for lunch and then drifted into a well-deserved siesta time, a great way to digest lunch in the tropical heat. Then our pilot and commentator arrived onboard and we proceeded to the slow but fascinating transit of the Panama Canal. We were able to enjoy the first half of the transit during daytime and then the spectacular view of the Canal lighted at night.
This morning we had the opportunity to visit the town of Portobelo, just a few miles east of the entrance to the Canal. The city of Portobelo was established at the end of the 16th century by the Spanish Crown. After the conquest of the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro thousands of tons of gold and silver poured into Panama on its way to Spain every year. In order to control the traffic of precious metals through the Isthmus of Panama, the Spanish bureaucracy established a customs house and built heavily armed fortresses in the bay. Throughout most of the 17th and 18thth centuries Portobelo became one of the major centers of trade in the Spanish Empire until it was abandoned in the mid 1850’s. Nowadays, Portobelo is nothing more than a small fishing village, but the restored customs house, the coral walls of the fortresses with its rusted cannons and the colonial church serve as a reminder of the splendor the city enjoyed for centuries.
We had pizza for lunch and then drifted into a well-deserved siesta time, a great way to digest lunch in the tropical heat. Then our pilot and commentator arrived onboard and we proceeded to the slow but fascinating transit of the Panama Canal. We were able to enjoy the first half of the transit during daytime and then the spectacular view of the Canal lighted at night.
