Portobelo

Portobelo was the Caribbean end of the route across the isthmus, where silver carried from Peru was loaded onto the Spanish treasure fleets, and the fairs held here were among the great commercial events of the colonial world. That made it a target, and the bay is ringed by the stone forts built to protect it, batteries with cannon still in place looking out over the water. The town today is small and largely Afro-Caribbean, and the Congo tradition, a performance culture of dance, dress and satirical theatre developed by escaped enslaved people, is recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage and comes alive at carnival. The church of San Felipe holds the Black Christ, the focus of a major pilgrimage each October.

History

Legend says Columbus named the harbour Puerto Bello, beautiful port, in 1502, and after Francis Drake died of dysentery in 1596 he was buried at sea in a lead coffin off its entrance, remembered by Isla Drake. Francisco Velarde y Mercado founded the town in 1597 for its deep natural harbour, and it soon replaced Nombre de Dios as the port for Peruvian silver, one of the two Atlantic ports of the Spanish treasure fleet, guarded by forts. English privateers under William Parker took it in 1601, Henry Morgan in 1668 with 450 men, plundering it for 14 days, and John Coxon in 1680; in 1726 the Royal Navy blockaded it under Admiral Hosier, and in 1739, in the War of Jenkins' Ear, a Royal Navy siege took it. The construction of the Panama Canal in the late 19th century revived its economy (Wikipedia, Portobelo).

Highlights

• The bay forts - Santiago and San Jerónimo batteries with cannon in place.
• The Black Christ - the venerated figure in San Felipe church, and its October pilgrimage.
• Congo tradition - the Afro-Panamanian performance culture, strongest at carnival.
• The customs house - the restored colonial building on the waterfront.

When to go

December to April is drier; this coast is one of the wettest parts of the country. The Black Christ pilgrimage on 21 October brings tens of thousands of people. Carnival is when the Congo tradition is most visible.

Practical notes

Portobelo is a poor town and the forts are unrestored and partly overgrown, with no interpretation on site; visitors expecting a curated heritage site find a working village with ruins in it. It rains a great deal. The road from Panama City is winding and the last stretch slow. It is often visited as a stop on the way to the Caribbean beaches rather than as a destination.

Nearby

Isla Grande and the Caribbean beaches are further east; Panama City is two hours south.