Portobelo and Panama Canal Transit
The Sea Voyager pulled gently into the Bay of Portobelo at dawn, leaving behind the rolling waters of a slightly stirred Caribbean Sea. The fact that our transit through the Panama Canal was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. presented us with an opportunity to visit one of the most dramatic scenarios of colonial history.
In the apparent calmness of the harbor, our vessel was greeted by the rows of cannons that defend the entrance to the bay. Corroded by 400 years of wind, rain, and sun, and sitting upon the remnants of what once was the “Rich city on the Royal Road”, it is remarkable that these loyal guardians are still standing their ground.
Portobelo was founded by Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, on the last day of October of 1502, after a monstrous tropical tempest washed up his flotilla into the harbor. Years of glory and decadence were to follow as the Spaniards constructed castles and forts to protect their bullion from the unwanted pirates, a treasure that they in turn had stolen from the South American natives.
Located on the Caribbean coast of the Isthmus of Panama, and sheltered as it was from the elements of nature, Portobelo became the port from which most of the New World riches were put on galleons and shipped to Spain.
Few of the so-called marauders resisted the temptation of laying hands on such portentous plunders, and many attacks were inflicted upon the city, beginning with an attempt carried out by Sir Francis Drake, which failed miserably and ended his life of pillaging.
This morning however, the bay seemed calm and the air unruffled, as we shuttled ashore to investigate the ruins of the Spanish fortifications, and meandered through the streets of the quaint and sleepy town of Portobelo: “…the fairest thing you ever saw.”
The Sea Voyager pulled gently into the Bay of Portobelo at dawn, leaving behind the rolling waters of a slightly stirred Caribbean Sea. The fact that our transit through the Panama Canal was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. presented us with an opportunity to visit one of the most dramatic scenarios of colonial history.
In the apparent calmness of the harbor, our vessel was greeted by the rows of cannons that defend the entrance to the bay. Corroded by 400 years of wind, rain, and sun, and sitting upon the remnants of what once was the “Rich city on the Royal Road”, it is remarkable that these loyal guardians are still standing their ground.
Portobelo was founded by Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, on the last day of October of 1502, after a monstrous tropical tempest washed up his flotilla into the harbor. Years of glory and decadence were to follow as the Spaniards constructed castles and forts to protect their bullion from the unwanted pirates, a treasure that they in turn had stolen from the South American natives.
Located on the Caribbean coast of the Isthmus of Panama, and sheltered as it was from the elements of nature, Portobelo became the port from which most of the New World riches were put on galleons and shipped to Spain.
Few of the so-called marauders resisted the temptation of laying hands on such portentous plunders, and many attacks were inflicted upon the city, beginning with an attempt carried out by Sir Francis Drake, which failed miserably and ended his life of pillaging.
This morning however, the bay seemed calm and the air unruffled, as we shuttled ashore to investigate the ruins of the Spanish fortifications, and meandered through the streets of the quaint and sleepy town of Portobelo: “…the fairest thing you ever saw.”
