Richard Fifer

Distinguished Visitor

The Duke of Veragua signs the book of distinguished visitors upon his arrival at the National Archives building, where documents of the historical moments of the Spanish presence in Panama are exhibited.

After 500 hundred years, what was for the Spanish a discovery and for others a meeting of two cultures, the figure of Christopher Columbus maintains current the debate of an exploration mission that changed the world’s coordinates and opened the door to new routes of navigation.

Regardless of how the perspectives or opinions in favor or against the persevering admiral are interpreted, the explorer at the service of the Spanish crown, was a deeply ethic and religious man who used dialogue and negotiation with the natives he ran into at the Panamanian coasts he visited on his fourth trip.

It was an important visit to Panama of a direct descendant, the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, who took the time to make a retrospective of the man who, after much effort and defeating the bureaucracy of the time, dared to challenge the belief that the earth was flat.

Colon de Carvajal seems as someone who is never in a hurry, invited to our country by the Castilla del Oro Foundation, encouraged by entrepreneur Richard Fifer Carles, was always open to answer questions about his ancestor with detail.  In this occasion he made a parenthesis in his agenda to attend the Panamanian press and speak about the profoundness, quality, and professionalism of the contents of the journals of the Genovese Admiral.

He stated “this is what inspired all the pilots that came after, what all the sailors and all the navies of the world have followed”.

He added that they “have maps called navigation charts, books that describe the geographical accidents with detail, and that is what Columbus’ book is based on”

He said “he wrote journals of all his trips, many have been lost, however there are chronicles, letters he wrote, letters written by others who traveled with him, thanks to these scripts we have a complete connection of everything he did and that has helped a lot”.

He concluded stating “in his fourth trip when he sailed the coasts of Central America and when he reached the coasts of Panama, who kept a very precise diary was his son Hernando Colon that left us a great reference in the book called “Vida del Almirante Cristobal Colon” (Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus) which he wrote a little bit as a release of all the accusations against his father, many of them made in an insidious way”.

“Columbus’ journal is a very professional one, it is not only about what is happening on his daily life, it has many technical data about the winds, currents, port extensions, drafts, anchorages, it is technically very perfect”.

The Castilla del Oro Foundation pretends to favor the sustainable development of these Panamanian regions with the purpose of generating wealth and wellbeing to their residents, now and in the future.  For it, they will transform this region into a world class cultural tourist destination, and will give it the necessary infrastructures to achieve it.

With the first objective to restore this region to the international tourism map, the entity will promote “La Castilla del Oro” as a place where visitors can walk through history and follow the steps of the adventurers of the XVI century and become a XXI century discoverer.  In this region they will find heaven on earth as it is a fortunate land where jungle, history and beaches collide; a redoubt of culture and civilization where time passes without hurry and remains unbreakable over time.

The entity will recover the historical memory of this region, adding value to all the popular traditions from the first nations to the Spanish ones: from music and dance, to crafts, regional costumes, religious rites, and in general, the folklore and the character that have forged the idiosyncrasy of this town.

On the other hand, it will promote a series of infrastructures like the Conventions Center, Hotels, Theme Parks, Motels, among others; which will improve the tourist’s stay as well as the daily life of the residents

“Columbus’ journal is a very professional one, it is not only about what is happening on his daily life, it has many technical data about the winds, currents, port extensions, drafts, anchorages, it is technically very perfect”.

Related posts:

1. Richard Fifer – Direct Descendant of Cristobal Colon Revives Panamanian Colonies with Tourism
2. Castilla del Oro Foundation supports kuna culture
3. Richard Fifer – Meet the duke “Cristobal Colon XX”