Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Veraguas Province Highlights
Explore the astounding natural beauty of
Parque Nacional Coiba
(
Click here
),
above or below the water line
Surf some seriously sick waves at
Playa Santa Catalina
(
Click here
) , Panama's
legendary surf spot
Retreat to the highland village of
Santa Fé
(
Click here
) , famous for its water-
falls, steep hills and lush forests
Visit the
Iglesia San Francisco de Veraguas
(
Click here
) , one of the best ex-
amples of baroque religious art and architecture in the Americas
Get inspired off the beaten path with a retreat to the crowd-free
Isla Gobernadora
(
Click here
)
Adventure to the
Western Azuero Península
(
Click here
) , with remote coastal
appeal and community turtle tours
History
The fourth and final voyage of Columbus brought him here in search of a water passage
that would, by his calculation, pass south of Asia into the Indian Ocean. The year was
1502, and the great explorer spent most of it commanding his little worm-eaten fleet up
and down the Caribbean coast from Venezuela to Nicaragua. Unable to find a strait, but
seeing gold-laden natives in the region, the admiral cast anchor between Veraguas and
Colón Provinces.
In February 1503 Columbus gave orders to establish a hillside colony beside the
mouth of Río Belén. The Quibian, the area's native inhabitants, massacred an exploratory
party that had gone up river. When Spanish corpses came floating down the river,
Columbus loaded the ships and set sail for Hispaniola (the island of modern-day Domin-
ican Republic and Haiti).
In his journal Columbus wrote: 'I departed, in the name of the Holy Trinity, on Easter
night, with the ships rotten, worn out, and eaten with holes.' He died three years later be-
lieving he'd seen Asia, unaware that he'd found instead the second-largest landmass on
earth.
Over the next 30 years, the Spanish attempted several other expeditions, which all
ended in similar disaster. The conquistadors returned to the area two decades later and
eventually overcame the Quibian. After finding gold, they established mines, and in 1560
founded the town of Concepción (which has since disappeared), 10km west of the Río
Belén. African slaves were brought in to extract gold and run the smelter in Concepción.
