SOUTH AMERICA | 151
CHURCH OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
ITAJAÍ, BRAZIL
FEATURED New Ports of Call
CASCO VIEJO
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
ITAJAÍ, BRAZIL
Sitting at the mouth of the scenic Rio Itajaí-Açu, this cosmopolitan city between São Paulo and the Uruguayan border
offers a culture-rich respite from the frenetic pace of Brazil’s larger cities. Founded by mid-18th-century Portuguese
settlers, the bayside city received an influx of German immigrants a hundred years later, perhaps ensuring the region’s
proliferation of excellent wineries and breweries. Past the shops, bars and restaurants of the bustling port, stop into the
eclectic Itajaí Historical Museum for post-colonial artifacts and the Ethno-Archaeological Museum for local prehistoric
finds. The white sands of Atalaia Beach beckon, as does snapping a photo of an iconic cliff formation called Parrot’s Beak
south of the beach. See this new port in voyages located on pages 155, 157 & 159.
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
The very definition of an aquatic crossroads, dynamic Panama City boasts a shimmering skyline, cobblestone streets
lined with rooftop bars, and centuries of intact ruins to explore. Founded in 1519, the original Panama City — Panamá
Viejo — was abandoned in the mid-17th century and replaced by a historic district — Casco Viejo. Together they are
recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The distinctive design of architect Frank Gehry greets your
arrival at Biomuseo, the world’s first biodiversity museum that vividly tells Panama’s biological history. Discover a
trove of artifacts and information on the planning, construction and operation of the “Big Ditch” at the interactive
Panama Canal Museum, and at the impressive Plaza de Francia, pay homage to the 22,000 workers who died during
the French attempt to build the canal between 1880 and 1893. See this new port on the voyage, Empires of the Maya
and Inca, located on page 153.