Fishermen have been a respected community for thousands of years for their honest and hard work. When Jesus Christ decided to select his closest followers, he went to a fishing village to choose them. The Holy Book includes several stories about Jesus and his apostles involved in fishing activities on the Sea of Gallilee.
The Synoptic gospels of Mark (1:14-20), Matthew (4:18-22), and Luke (5:1-11) describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James.
One of Jesus famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake while many of his miracles also occurred here including his walking on water, calming a storm, and his feeding five thousand people at Tabgha.
The fish was a symbol of Christianity when the early Christians were forced to go underground to protect themselves from the constant attacks of the Romans.
During my recent visit to a humble fishing cooperative at the entrance of the Panama Canal, I observed an elder fisherman busy mending a dark net. I asked for his permission to take a couple of pictures while he was doing his job. He smiled faintly, mumbled a polite “yes”, and continued repairing his net.
These are the pictures which came out of my small Canon Birthday camera. Here we go.

Photograph of an elder fisherman fixing his net at a small cooperative on the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. Take notice that the net has the shape of a cross. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of Jaime, the fisherman, concentrated on his work sitting on top of a hard surface. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

I noticed that his cap had a legend that read, "Puente de las Americas" (Bridge of the Americas), and included a small Panama flag. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

While I observed this hard working man doing him job, I thought how little has changed since the early days of the fishermen at Lake Gaililee. For this man fishing is his life just like it was during biblical times. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)
Yep, fishermen are hard working people involved in an honest profession. It has been this way for thousands of years. Good Day.
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