Old Spanish cannon at the fortress ruin of Santiago with a view over the Caribbean Sea in Portobelo near Colon, Panama, Central America.

© SL_Photography / Getty Images / iStockphoto

Colón

With its colonial structures in decay and its neighborhoods marginalized, Colón is the city that Panama forgot, in spite of vigorous encouragement to attract Caribbean cruise ships. Before 1869 the railroad connecting Panama City and Colón was the only rapid transit across the continental western hemisphere. A last wheeze of prosperity was heard during the construction of the Panama Canal.

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