Colon & Portobelo, Panama

Have you ever visited both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on the same day by car?

While in Panama, this is one of the must things to do. Rent a car and drive from Panama City (on the Pacific Ocean), following the Panama Canal to Colon on the Atlantic (Carribean Sea). The road is a great highway, and there are many interesting sights along the way. There is both a toll road (9) and a non-toll road (3 & 852) that follows the canal across the isthmus. The trip on the toll road (9) takes about 45 minutes.

The road that travels along the canal offers great views but takes a lot longer to traverse, (1-2 hours) depending on how many stops you make.

Colon, located on the Carribean Sea is a large seaport and entrance to the Panama Canal. It includes a duty-free zone for shopping, although the city is not a great place for tourists. Once you arrive at Colon, travel north-east, along the Caribbean for about an hours drive and you will arrive a Portobelo.

Portobelo was founded in 1597 by Spanish explorer Francisco Velarde y Mercado. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries it was an important silver-exporting and one of the ports on the route of the Spanish treasure fleets. In 1668, Captain Henry Morgan led a fleet of pirates and 450 men against Portobelo and captured and plundered the city of all its wealth.

There are still remnants of the old fortifications that defended this city all along the coast.

Today the city of Portobelo has a population of around 3,000. It has a natural deep harbor and is home to many cruising yachts. It has been declared a World Heritage Site.

Road Trip on Panamerican Highway on next Blog.