Porto Colom
With a commercial trading history dating back to the 13th century, this relatively quiet port is built around an expansive natural harbour, nearly 1 ml long with traditional fishing boats and a few small pleasure craft drawn up or safely tucked into shelters along the margin. Old fishing cottages cluster densely around the small church to the north of the harbour, on the road out to the lighthouse. A small harbourside promenade lined with jumbled, low-rise local-style buildings fans out into a small working town centre dotted with pine trees. Most of the tourist infrastructure is in the modern residential area to the south of the harbour, on a rocky headland above the centre and around the beach of Cala Marçal opposite. The resort stretches for around 2 mls from the old town to Cala Marçal – along winding, often one-way streets – and measures no more than ¼ ml at its widest. The picturesque coastline is best viewed from the sea, to appreciate the plethora of small coves with fine white sand that are tucked into the rocks.
