Fort San Lorenzo and Rio Chagres

In this video, we depart Shelter Bay Marina for the Chagres River. This was our first sail in the Caribbean, and it was a rough one. The entrance to the river is tricky, with an underwater reef and sand bars, but we chose slack-tide for our crossing. Once in the river, the water was flat calm.

We dropped anchor at the "Happy Howler" anchorage, and true to its name, we heard howler monkeys all day.

The few days we spent there were perfect for unwinding after our Panama Canal transit. We then anchored behind the fort that once guarded the entrance to this river, Fuerte San Lorenzo.

It was built by the Spanish in 1601, and was attacked, destroyed, and rebuilt twice. At the time, Spain was shipping gold from Peru across the isthmus of Panama, and down the Chagres River. In the mid-18th century, the Spanish gave up the fort and instead went around South America's Cape Horn, choosing the risk of weather over pirates.

This area around the US-built Panama Canal was protected by the US until December 31, 1999, at which point everything was turned over to the Panamanians.

The government of Panama has spent quite a bit of money to turn the fort into a tourist destination, paving fresh roads and maintaining the grounds. While they've done a good job, it may be an uphill battle at the only nearest city, Colón, is crime-ridden, filthy, and poverty-stricken.