Aerial view of Isla Taborcillo. Beware! the island could trap you.

Panama is a country filled with surprises. One of them is Taborcillo, a private little island off the Pacific coast of the Isthmus that once belonged to the famous actor John Wayne and today is the site of a new resort and theme park: John Wayne City.

As visitors approach Taborcillo –only 40 minutes away from Panama City by boat – they will be touched by the fascination of the island’s wild nature, its long, white beaches and the old mango trees planted by the "Duke" himself.

View of Taborcillo's exclusive hotel.

The replica of an authentic western town, typical of Wayne’s movies, John Wayne City is not for massive tourism. Only invited guests are allowed to lodge and use the facilities, which was developed by Ralph Hüber, founder of the Swiss publication "Who is who".

The island’s pristine tropical nature is part of the Taborcillo experience. The island boasts a large variety of fauna, including various species of exotic birds, some of which have chosen the south of the island to nest and breed their youngsters. There are also green and black iguanas, pelicans and huge sea turtles which come ashore to lay their eggs on the sand.

The office of a friendly sheriff.

A fresh water swimming pool with a large deck offering a wonderful view of the beach and the Pacific, invites visitors to enyoy all types of water activities.
For more information, Tel: (507) 616-0401.

Beauty on the Pacific.

Cielo Paraíso:

The attraction of the Boquete area will be greatly enhanced by another major project now under way. It is called Cielo Paraiso (Paradise in the Sky). Homes are offered on spacious lots round an 18-hole golf course, with spectacular views of the mountains and even the Pacific below.

Cielo Paraiso is the project of a Canadian couple, Colleen and Raideep Lal who decided to move to Panama. They bought an extensive cattle ranch, which they are transforming into a leisure and tourism haven. They are building a 74 room hotel with full facilities, designed by Warner Group Architects Inc. of Santa Barbara, California.

They also have started an ambitious re-forestation project with mature trees, and have their own electricity sub-station for the project.

Toucan Country Club:

Mr. Dinesh P. Vaswani, ExecutiveVice-President of Tucan Real Estate Holdings, Inc.

The risk of a Toucan stealing your ball from the fairway of the Tucan Country Club and Resort is minimal, say the developers, despite their logo which depicts one of these exotic birds with a golf ball in its colorful beak.

It is possible that golfers and residents will see not only toucans, but plenty of wildlife, since their magnificent course is bounded by virgin rainforest on one side and the Panama Canal on the other.

The Tucan Country Club and Resort is being developed on the old 180 acre Horoko Golf Club, used by the U.S. military during their occupation of the Canal area ( the name Horoko was an adaptation of the names Howard, Rodman and Kobbe)

The old course, laid out in the 1940’s, has been redesigned as a superb par 72 championship course and will be the focus for a comprehensive development which will incorporate 500 homes, a hotel, clubhouse with indoor and outdoor dining facilities, meeting rooms, ballroom, men’s and women’s club bars and social areas for events.

The complex will include a full-service gym, spa and tennis club and a shopping arcade with services like bank, laundry, pharmacy, beauty salons, auto rental and gourmet mini-super.

This will be a gated community for members only. In fact a pre-requisite for purchasers of the villas, townhouses and terrace condos at Tucan Resort will be membership. Prices including lifetime membership range from $198,000 to over $800,000. Non-residents will be able to buy a lifetime membership for $25,000.

The project will also include the construction of 500 large and comfortable villas.

Stupendous views of the canal, the canal basin and the city shimmering a mere 15 minutes away, can be enjoyed from the homes and from many points on the course.

The developers are Tucan Real Estate Holding , Inc, a company backed by an old Panamanian family of repute, headed by Mr. Sagar Vishindas whose company, Grupo V & V was involved in the development of the highly successful Summit Golf and Resort, another former U.S. military course.

Tucan Country Club and Resort will be the only golf and residential resort in the province of Panama. The development is nearing completion of the pre-sale period and it is reported that U.S. citizens, relocating, or buying a second home here, constitute the majority of the buyers so far.