"STILL WATCHING, STILL WAITING FOR THE ENGLISH, FUERTE SAN LORENZO COLON PANAMA"
Nov 04 '02 (Updated May 09 '05)
The Bottom Line Another interesting little detour off of the beaten path.
On an isolated point of land in the Caribbean a solitary guardian still remains at its post. Three centuries have passed since its inception and its very raison d étre has long since fallen by the wayside. Despite this Fuerte San Lorenzo still stands guard on a point of land at the mouth of the Rio Charges on Panama's Caribbean coast.
This spot was the traditional invasion route for English pirates into the interior of Panama and the riches that awaited them there. As the then Spanish rulers objected to others, especially the English, obtaining the riches they had worked so hard to acquire form the local natives, something had to be done.
The first fortifications were built here in 1595. They failed to stop Sir Francis Drake when he attacked in 1596 and later Henry Morgan in 1670. Morgan would go on to cross the isthmus of Panama and sack Panama City before returning to the Caribbean coast and sailing off.
Further fortifications were completed after this but they too fell to an attack by British Admiral Edward Vernon in 1740. The present fort was completed in 1760 but was never tested as by then age of the pirates had come to an end.
The fort is surrounded by a moat and the battlements offer a spectacular view over the surrounding countryside, dense green jungle, and the warm blue waters of the Caribbean. For those interested take a stroll along the battlements. Among the Spanish cannons that adorn the walls is a single English one. It's a solitary remainder of the former "temporary owners" of the fort.
The fort was completely constructed of local materials. One can hardly imagine transporting them here any distance. The walls were made of dressed stone and blocks of coral. They provide a commanding look over an area that has changed little in three hundred years.
The fort is open to the public and can be reached by taxi fairly easily from the port city of Colon via the Gatun Locks. The drive takes about forty minutes each way. This makes the fort a good day trip of even half day trip from Colon. It is therefore possible to see it if one is stopping over on one of the numerous cruise ships that call here.
Incidentally the forest that surround the fortress was part of Fort Sherman when it was a US military establishment. Prior to the withdrawal of US troops from Panama, Fort Sherman was a jungle warfare centre. Military Police guarded the entrance and gave strict instructions to those enroute to visit Fuerte San Lorenzo.
Visitors were told to exercise caution on the drive up to the fort and not to deviate from the assigned route. Failure to do so might have one become an unwitting and unwilling training aid for the troops exercising their deadly craft there.
One wonders what the ghosts of the Spanish Conquistadors must have thought of the antics of the their twentieth century descendants crawling around in the jungle as they watched from their permanent posts on the ramparts of the old fortress.
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