Colón Province - Panama - page 414

Information
Just off the main road through town, ATP ( 6485-7028, 448-2200; 9:30am-5:30pm
Tue-Fri & Sun) has good information. Ask Mirsa Jimenez for information about dance
classes, volunteering with the school or working on community projects; only Spanish is
spoken. Across the street from the tourist office is an internet cafe (per hr US$1.50;
8:30am-4pm Mon-Fri) .
Portobelo consists of about 15 square blocks beside a paved two-lane road that inter-
sects with the Panama City-Colón road at the town of Sabanitas, 33km to the west. East
of Portobelo, the road forks after 9km. The right branch of the road extends 14km further
east to Nombre de Dios; the left branch extends 11km to the hamlet of La Guayra, where
you can hire boats to Isla Grande.
Getting There & Away
Buses to Portobelo (US$1.60, 1½ hours, every 30 minutes) depart from Colón's Terminal
de Buses from 6:30am to 6pm.
From Panama City you can avoid Colón. Take the Colón bus and get off at El Rey su-
permarket in Sabanitas, 10km before Colón. Next, catch the bus coming from Colón to
Portobelo when it passes through Sabanitas (US$1.25, 1¼ hours). Since it's often full,
take as little luggage as possible.
Getting Around
Taxis exist but can be scarce. On the Sabanitas -Portobelo road you can flag down any
bus headed in your direction. After dark there is no public transportation.
Water taxis leave from Fuerte Santiago. Co-op Santiago de La Gloria ( 448-2266)
charges a two-person minimum to Playa La Huerta (US$30), Playa Blanca (US$45) and
the beach at Puerto Francés (US$35); all fees are for a round trip.
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Around Portobelo
Playa Blanca
A 20-minute boat ride from Portobelo will bring you to this lovely white-sand beach,
which fronts a tranquil cove and is surrounded by dense wilderness. Since it is impos-