Download (36Mb) - Aquatic Commons

Historic Sites and Legends
No place in the New World has
a richer or more colorful history
. than the Isthmus of Panama
o PLACE in the New World has a richer
heritage of historic legend and human interest
than the Isthmus of Panama, for
it has been a center of activity in the Western
Hemisphere for more than 400 years.
Ruins and crumbling fortifications of the old
city of Panama on the Pacific side, and Porto
Bello and Fort San Lorenzo on the Atlantic
coast may be seen today by the tourist. The
cities of Panama and Porto Bello were founded
and grew rich long before New York, Philadelphia
or Boston were settled. They were once
the greatest gold and silveLcenters of the world
and were the most prized possessions of the
Spanish Crown in its vast territories in the
New World.
More than 100,000 tourists visit the Isthmus
of Panama every year, but comparatively few
stay long enough to savor the full charm of the
country of strange contrasts where the ruins and
relics centuries old stand alongside modern,
bustling cities. The average tourist disembarks
in Balboa or Cristobal bent on seeing everything
within a few hours, but it is impossible. The
romantic history of Panama is too rich and
colorful to be grasped in such a short time.
Some of the boldest conquerors of the Spanish
empire made their headquarters on the Isthm\ls.
The names of Christopher Columbus, Vasco
Nunez de Balboa and Francisco Pizarro
are intimately associated with its early history.
The bones of Sir Francis Drake, one of
Las Cruces Trail, famous old treasure road, crosses the modern concrete Madden Highway. The old gmt was taken from. one of
the many early Spanish fortifications on the Isthmus. Las Cruces Trail was ~Lsed by the pirate Morgan and his band of
buccaneers when they crossed the Isthmus in 1671 to sack and destroy tl,e old city of Panama.
Page ninety-seven