Old Panama City and the Colonial Site
The National Geographic Sea Lion had spent the night anchored in the peaceful Bay of Panama. As the sun began to appear in the horizon, we woke up and through our windows we could see the marvelous skyline of the modern city of Panama. In the bay, several ships were anchored, waiting for their turn to use the canal. A cool breeze passed around us and several seabirds soared around our vessel. It seemed to be as if they would be telling us, “Get ready for a great day!”
Right after breakfast we geared up, loaded the Zodiacs and head to the dock. Local guides were waiting to take us to the first city founded in 1519 on the pacific side of Panama. As we drove from the dock, we passed through four Islands that were connected to the mainland by a landfill, using all the gravel that was extracted from the narrowest part of the canal. Ancon Hill, the highest point of the city, stood as guardian. On top of this hill, we saw a Panamanian flag the same size of a basketball court. It had been raised there on October 1st of 1979, as part of the agreement of the Panama Canal Treaty.
Making our way to Old Panama City, we saw the modern side of Panama that has had a fast development in the past twenty years. High rise buildings could be seen behind the remains of the first city that was destroyed after the attack of the welsh pirate Henry Morgan. This old city was founded by Pedro Arias Davila back in 1519; six years after Vasco Nunez de Balboa had reached the pacific side of Panama. It was from this city where several Spanish explorers left to conquer the southern part of America. As they conquered the Incan Empire of Peru, they brought all the gold to Panama and from here it was sent to Spain. All this movement of goods attracted the attention of several pirates, but Henry Morgan was the only one who made it to the Pacific side. He attacked and raided the city in 1671, taking all the gold with him. After this attack, the Spaniard started to move the whole city in 1673 to what today is known as Casco Antiguo. The same Catholic orders that were in the old city moved to the new city. Here in the Colonial Site, Saint Joseph Church holds in his interiors, a majestic golden Altar that was saved from falling in the hands of the pirates thanks to the priest that ordered to remove the golden parts and pained it with mud, tar and limestone. We also saw the Flat Arch of Santo Domingo Church. This Arch is why the canal was built in Panama. It was an evidence that here in Panama there is neither volcanic activities nor severe seismic movements.
After walking through this historical place, we had a refreshing taste of locally made ice cream, which was a delightful reward for everyone. We would have stayed longer to enjoy the Heritage site, but we needed to return back onboard. Our adventure had to continue, for more exiting places to explore are waiting for us!
