Portobelo

Portobelo, which is about a half hour east of Colon, was named by Christopher Columbus in 1502 and is aptly named. During Spanish colonial times, Portobelo was used to transport most of the new world gold back to Spain. Due to these riches, pirates plundered Portobelo repeatedly. As a result, there are still many fortifications located around Portobelo and it is a beautiful little town to village. Right next door to some of the fortifications are houses of locals. As you can see in the picture, there is a fetid little stream running by the fortifications; all waste from the local houses fall into the stream and the little structure by the house over the stream holds the family pig.