Circumnavigation 446
Chapter Vi Cristobal-Coron-Limon Bay—
Panama Canal - Balboa Port October 3, 215 At 4 a.m. on Saturday, as the morning sun was rising and the first golden sun appeared, the cruise ship headed towards Cristobal-Coron. Located in Coron in the Caribbean Sea, Cristobal is a port at the eastern entrance to the Panama Canal. Coron was founded in 1850 and has a population of more than 200,000. In 1953 Coron became Freeport/FTA, ranking second in the world. The magnificent Panama Canal locks, world-famous and popular, make Coron an international tourist destination. Its name Cristóbal-Colen was written in honor of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus. The Renaissance European explorer Vasco Núez de Balboa explored the Isthmus of Panama and led a team of Europeans to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. He then established a colony in Panama, now known as Antigua, and became the first governor of the new colony. The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who served the Spanish government on expeditions, led a fleet of ships to circumnavigate the earth for the first time in 1519, dying in a clash with local tribes in the Philippines. Although Magellan was not able to end the round-the-world voyage, the remaining sailors on board continued westward, eventually returning to Europe.
