Richard Fifer

One of the premises that remained latent during the visit of the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal to Panama is the great tourist potential of Panama, but above all the fact that its sites are characterized by offering a unique product, away from those who sell themselves as a mass product.

This was a recurring subject addressed by the General Director of the Public Companies of the Autonomous Region of Extremadura in Spain, Jaime Ruiz Peña, made during a trip to Panama, as part of the tour carried out by Colon de Carvajal, who chairs the Castilla de Oro Foundation of Spain.

These comments were issued by Mr. Ruiz Peña amazed by what he saw during his tour of the Fort of San Lorenzo, located at the mouth of the Chagres River, silent witness of glorious epochs of the colonial period, characterized by raids to the city by corsairs and pirates.

“There are two options: to opt for mass tourism or for tourism which pays off for unique things and this is a unique product. I say this from the experience of intensively knowing a network of accommodation spots in Extremadura, such as small hotels”, he added.

He emphasized on the good conditions available at the structures of San Lorenzo, where there is good space for enabling the right accommodations. Additionally, it also contains history, attractive for any tourist coming from anywhere in the world.

“This is not the same Fort of San Lorenzo taken twice by the British and which was occupied by the pirate Sir Francis Drake”, he also explained.

Mr. Ruiz Peña said he has visited the Military Tatto festival, a 90 minutes presentation that has as main setting the Edinburgh Castle, and where the mixture of music, entertainment and theater, in an exhibition which bring together thousands of people.

“Imagine a show, with Spanish and British people full of tourists going crazy on the same site where centuries ago these events took place”, he stated.

The Fort of San Lorenzo is one of the oldest Spanish forts of America which protected the river entrance to the ancient Panama City, located in the Pacific.

Its construction began in 1598 by order of King Philip II and was completed three years later.  The plans for the fortress were designed by the Italian engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli.

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