Life's For Sharing

Friday 25 February 2011
Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. Normally this terrace is packed with people watching the progress of shipping through the canal. Today, the rain drove everyone but the most hardy under cover.

These strangers got to know each other a little under the umbrella.

Tomorrow, we go through the locks.

Panama Viejo

Friday 3 April 2009

This is the ruined cathedral in Panama Viejo, the original settlement founded by the Spanish conquistador Pedro D'Avila in 1519, which was destroyed by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. The Spanish rebuilt Panama close by and the ruins became known as Panama Viejo - Old Panama. It's now a UNESCO historical site.

Bridging The Americas

Sunday 28 October 2007

Panama City, Panama.
People play softball on the beach at Casco Viejo, the city built after the original Spanish settlement of Panama Viejo was destroyed by the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. Casco Viejo is quite dilapidated while the glass towers of the modern city rise up nearby. The town is a UNESCO Heritage site and is being restored, slowly but surely. In fact, the area behind me as I took this picture is all beautifully restored.

In the distance is the Bridge of The Americas, linking the continents of North and South America. Any shipping entering or leaving the Panama Canal passes under this bridge.