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Destination content © William Friar, used from Moon Handbooks Panama, 1st edition.

The province of Colón

The strip of Caribbean coastline that stretches from the mouth of the Río Chagres east toward the border of the Comarca de Kuna Yala is rich in history and even richer in natural beauty. Evidence of the former include the well-preserved ruins of Spanish forts, built to protect looted Inca treasure, as well as some of the most awe-inspiring structures of the Panama Canal. The area's natural attractions can be found among the mangroves, coral reefs, beaches, and forests that still abound with wildlife. Scuba diving and snorkeling are popular and easily accessible in the warm Caribbean waters, home to brilliant tropical fish and ancient shipwrecks that are still being discovered. All this is within a two-hour drive from Panama City.

The Portobelo area in particular has long been a favorite place for Panamanian and American locals to enjoy water sports, especially scuba diving. While the diving and visibility is better elsewhere, it's quite convenient here. Other dive spots include the waters around Isla Grande, which also has one surf break.

This is prime bird-watching country. The Audubon Society once identified 350 species on a single day during its annual Christmas Bird Count. Other activities include organized walks through the forest and a short boat ride to the mouth of the historic Río Chagres.

Towns and Places to Visit

Colón

The geographic position of Colón has been a determining factor in the historic role it has played in the economy and the history of Panama. During Colonial times it was a strategic point for the transit of treasures destined for Spain from the colonies. The destiny of the city of Colón was marked by the construction of the transoceanic railroad and the Canal, as well as by the discovery of gold in California. In its periods of splendor and prosperity as in the times of its decadence and abandonment, Colón is a province that enjoys a wealth of historic, natural and cultural treasures that make it very attractive.

Portobelo

The first Spanish structure as one enters Portobelo from the west is Castillo Santiago de la Gloria, on the left side of the road. It's the last incarnation of a fort that was built, destroyed, rebuilt, and tinkered with for more than 150 years and never ended up defending the town particularly well. These ruins date from 1753.

In the town itself is Castillo San Gerónimo, which dates from the same period. The nearby Customs House, the Real Aduana de Portobelo, was restored in February 1998 by the Spanish government. If you hadn't seen its state before the restoration, you might have a hard time figuring out what was done to it. Still, the place has been through a lot: Originally built in or around 1630, it was seriously damaged in a 1744 attack, then rebuilt, then damaged again in an 1882 earthquake. Just a couple of walls were left standing before the restoration.

The one-room museum inside the building is nothing special. There's a bit of the original foundation in the middle of the floor, but "exhibits" consist mainly of cheap reproductions of period pistols (on sale) and some old tools, cannonballs, and mortars. There are also replicas of pre-Colombian Indian tools and weapons mixed in with a few pieces of real pottery shards. There's a small model of Portobelo's fortifications just outside the entrance.

For all the incredible treasure that came through this building-and which is still being found in the jungle-the museum has seen fit instead to display a collection of common, modern-day coins that tourists have tossed into the foundation pit. It's one of those goofy touches one often finds in Panama museums, as is the 1920s typewriter from a colección privada (private collection).

Upstairs from the museum is a large hall with a narrative display containing information on Portobelo, the Camino Real, the Black Christ Festival, and Panamanian folkloric dances. The display is fairly interesting if one speaks Spanish; there is no English translation.

If exploring these ruins and buildings doesn't satisfy your historical urges, hire a water taxi near Castillo Santiago de la Gloria for $2 per person to take you across the bay to visit what's left of Castillo San Fernando, which was designed in the 1750s to replace Castillo San Felipe, demolished in 1739 by Edward Vernon, a British admiral. Unfortunately, American builders used rock from the fort in the construction of the canal, further damaging what little that time, war, and pirates had spared. Also, a short, steep hike above town leads to some fortifications with a good view of the bay; if you're heading east, it'll be on to the hill to the right just before town. Drivers can park by the side of the road.

Church and Museum of the Black Christ

The large white church nearby is the Iglesia de San Felipe, which is still in use. It dates from 1814, but its tower wasn't completed until 1945. It's famous as the home of the life-sized effigy of the Nazarene of Portobelo, better known as the Black Christ. The effigy, depicting Christ carrying the cross, normally resides on a podium to the left of the altar, but it is brought out to the center of the church for the Black Christ Festival, by far Portobelo's biggest event. The handsome altar of the church is adorned with gold images depicting various emblems of the crucifixion, including nails, instruments of torture, and the dice the Roman soldiers cast for Christ's robe. Small wooden carvings ringing the walls depict the stages of the cross.

Behind this church is the recently renovated Iglesia de San Juan de Dios, home to the new Museo del Cristo Negro de Portobelo, which now displays 63 of the robes donated by Panamanians for the festival, some of which are more than 100 years old. Among the more famous is the one donated by the champion boxer Roberto "Manos de Piedra" (hands of stone) Duran.

The Black Christ figurine's robes are changed twice a year, and each is used just once. The statue is adorned with a red wine-colored robe for the Black Christ Festival held each October 21. This is changed to a purple one for Holy Week. Many of the robes are donated anonymously. Some are simple and others are quite ornate, done up in gold trim and the like. The priciest one on display here cost the donor an estimated $1,700 for the raw materials alone.

Admission to the entire complex is $1 for adults, $.25 for children. The price includes a guided tour of the displays, though the guides speak only Spanish. Hours are 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mon. - Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sat. - Sun.

Gatún Locks

On the Pacific side of the Panama Canal it takes two sets of locks, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel, to raise or lower ships 85 feet (26 meters). Gatún Locks, on the Caribbean side, do the job by themselves. Each lock chamber is the same size as those on the Pacific-1,000 by 110 feet (almost 305 by 34 meters)-but there are three pairs of them on this side, versus two (at Miraflores) and one (Pedro Miguel) on the Pacific. That makes Gatún Locks absolutely massive, a little less than a mile (more than 1.5 kilometers) from end to end. All this is by way of saying that the Gatún Locks are an especially impressive sight. An observation platform up a long flight of stairs gives an excellent view of the locks, the Caribbean entrance to the canal, and Lago Gatún.

There's another observation spot downstairs, next to a building on the edge of the locks. It has a small scale model of the entire canal. Bathrooms for tourists are in the building behind the model.

The locks are open to visitors 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. seven days a week. The number of tourists visiting the locks was increasing at the time of writing, but the free bilingual talks on the canal offered regularly by the Panama Canal Authority at Miraflores were still sporadic here. Best bets are Thursday, the occasional Friday, and whenever a cruise ship disgorges its passengers for a tour of the locks.

If time and transportation allow, take a quick spin through the townsite of Gatún, next to the locks. The area is still under control of the Panama Canal Authority, and during my last visit it was still being well maintained-the grass was neatly cut, and the old houses and employee facilities were still in pretty good shape. A visit will give a taste of what life in the old Canal Zone looked like.

Gatún Dam

This huge (nearly 2.5 kilometers long) earthen dam was built to create Lago Gatún (Gatún Lake), a vital part of the Panama Canal. It was the largest such structure in the world when the canal opened in 1914. The dam controls the flow of the mighty Río Chagres, a major obstacle to canal builders, and supplies electricity used at the locks and the surrounding communities. It's an impressive sight when the spillway is opened and the water comes roaring out. A small bridge runs right by the spillway, behind which there's a good view of the canal. To get to the dam, cross over the swing bridge that spans Gatún Locks. Take the first left after the bridge and head up the road for about two kilometers.

Protected Areas

Fuerte San Lorenzo and área Protegida San Lorenzo

This is one of Panama's newest protected areas. Its 12,000 hectares include a former U.S. military base (Fort Sherman), the impressive ruins of the Spanish fort of San Lorenzo, and four types of forest, including mangroves and freshwater wetlands. The United States left most of this forest standing, and with the departure of the military all kinds of wildlife have returned even to formerly populated areas. The big question is what happens next.

Conflicting demands are being made on the area. On the one side are those who want to preserve this vital ecosystem, restricting its use as much as possible to ecotourism and scientific research. This area is a crucial link in the biological corridor that runs the length of Panama, especially since so much of the land to the east and west of it has already been deforested. That also makes it a linchpin in the even more important Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which runs the entire length of Central America. On the other side are those who see this entire region as prime real estate. Also, slash-and-burn farmers, hunters, and loggers began to invade the area after the departure of the U.S. military.

Still, it seems likely that those pushing for conservation will be at least partly successful. In the short term, only organized groups are being allowed into most of the protected area. That's probably just as well for now, because visitors really wouldn't want to wander around here by themselves. Besides the usual hazards found in a tropical forest, there is unexploded ordnance in the area. The U.S. military conducted jungle-warfare training and had a firing range here. For more information on the protected area, visit www.sanlorenzo.org.pa.

The ruins of Fuerte San Lorenzo (official name: Castillo de San Lorenzo el Real de Chagres) are impressive and surprisingly intact. They sit on the edge of a cliff with a commanding view of the Caribbean coast and the mouth of the Río Chagres, which the Spaniards built the fort to protect. The Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan won a bloody battle here in 1671, destroying the then-wooden fort before crossing the isthmus to sack Panama City. San Lorenzo was rebuilt as a strong stone fort in 1680, but the British admiral Edward Vernon still managed to destroy it in 1740. It was rebuilt yet again in 1768, with more fortifications added in 1779. These are the ruins visible today. The ruins, along with those at Portobelo, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Note: Be careful wandering around the fort. There are few guard rails and it'd be easy to walk right off a roof or a cliff. Supposedly at least one tourist has.

The entrance to the area is 12 kilometers past Gatún Locks in the former U.S. military base of Fort Sherman; stay straight after crossing over the swing bridge at the locks. Fuerte San Lorenzo is another 11 kilometers up a rough but passable road. It's a left turn past the entrance to Fort Sherman. On the way to Fort Sherman, look for a water-filled channel near the road. This is the French Cut, a remnant of the doomed French effort to build a sea-level canal.

At the guardhouse at Fort Sherman, just tell the guard you're going to San Lorenzo and you'll be let in. Be prepared to show ID.

Once-popular Shimmy Beach, to the right, is covered in trash washed up from Colón-probably not the best spot for a swim. The turnoff to San Lorenzo is on the left. It's a 20-minute drive on a sometimes rough road from here. Those without a four-wheel drive can ask about road conditions at the gate. The guard might possibly know.

From this point on the road is surrounded by beautiful rainforest. It's easy to feel transported back in time and imagine conquistadors and pirates hacking their way through this jungle in their relentless pursuit of treasure. Follow the signs to the fort, which is where the road ends. Road conditions get fairly rough toward the end.

If the church is closed during the week, ask for help at the alcaldía (mayor's office), on the right side of the plaza as you face the church. The church isn't really all that impressive or worth making a special trip for, but the Interamericana is less than a kilometer away from the church and village center, making it an easy place to swing by for those with their own transportation. Visitors can easily walk to the church from the highway if need be. There are a few facilities for tourists in Natá, but there are better options in Aguadulce or Penonomé.

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Colón Travel Guide | Afro caribbean Culture full of History