Panama Canal with Costa Rica & Caribbean

Cartagena, (kär´te-jê´ne) city (1985 pop. 563,949), capital of Bolívar dept., NW Colombia, a port on the Bay of Cartagena, in the Caribbean Sea. Oil-refining and the manufacture of leather, textile, and tobacco goods are major industries, and there is an expanding petrochemical complex. Founded in 1533, Cartagena became the treasure city of the Spanish Main, where precious New World minerals awaited transshipment to Spain. It was often sacked despite its massive fortifications, some of which still stand. It declared its independence from Spain in 1811 and was incorporated into Colombia in 1821. Its rapid development in the 20th cent. was due largely to the discovery of oil in the Magdalena basin. One of the most picturesque of Latin American cities, with shady plazas and cobblestone streets, Cartagena attracts many tourists.

Fort Lauderdale, (lô´der-dâl´) city (1990 pop. 148,377), seat of Broward Co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. The city has more than 270 mi (435 km) of natural and artificial waterways and one of the largest marinas in the world. A major beach resort, it has a performing arts center and art and science museums. Products include electronic devices, boats and yachts, and various light manufactures.

Its beauty is deep. Not skin deep; we’re talking underwater. For however gorgeous the land-based sites are on this largest of the Cayman Islands, it is snorkeling, diving and glass-bottom boat and submarine rides that provide the most breathtaking natural attractions.

Grand Cayman is one of a group of three islands named “Las Tortugas” by Columbus, because he found them populated by turtles, or “tortugas.” Today, the national symbol is a peg-legged pirate turtle.

A friendly people, Caymanians have traditionally counted on the sea for their livelihood. Since the islanders’ identity was gleaned from the sea rather than from the land, the Caymans’ human history took a different turn from that in other Caribbean islands. Most of the early citizens were seafarers from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Blacks later migrated to the island from Jamaica in search of better paying jobs and a higher standard of living. The Caymans never suffered from the indignities of plantation slavery, so racial tolerance developed more easily, further reinforced by interracial marriage. This mixing process plus the continuing immigration of British and American people result in a culture that is Caribbean yet recognizably Western.