Portobelo

About

Portobelo was founded by Spanish explorer Francisco Velarde y Mercado in 1597. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, it served as one of Spain’s most important port in Central America, exporting Peruvian gold and treasures from the far east back to Europe. So important was the port that Sir Francis Drake was buried in a lead coffin near Portobelo Bay though his body has yet to be found. Though English privateers managed to raze the town multiple times, the Spanish continued to maintain fortifications in the bay, and along the coast - a defensive network now recognized by UNESCO for their pragmatic and creative genius. The colorful fishing town actually has two Spanish forts - Fuerte Santiago, with nearly 10 foot-thick cut coral walls, watchtowers, artillery sheds, and officers’ headquarters, and the larger Fuerte San Jeronimo, with its 18 cannons, and still-standing watchtowers and officers’ quarters.