The Island of Flowers,
its people call it. Hibiscus. Oleander and Jasmine. Fragance everywhere.
Prostrate on the beach. Supine on the hotel balcony. Snorkeling
on the smooth Southern Sea. Horizontal, watching the earth’s
seaborne commerce hastening along the rim of the ocean, bound
to or from the Panama Canal. This is the Taboga view of the world.
Taboga is where Francisco Pizarro shoved off to conquer Peru,
where pirates laid the groundwork for Errol Flynn movies, where
the artist Paul Gaugin lingered a while on his way to the South
Pacific, where half the steamship trade of the Pacific West Coast
once was based.
A multi-lane Taboga highway is a footpath upon which two pedestrians
may pass without one of them brushing the oleander.
Taboga’s tiny church claims to be second-oldest in the
hemisphere. The town square is of a size with it.
An equally tiny mystery is why some acquisitive tourist has
not wrapped them both and carried them off under his arm.
Students of urban sprawl are reminded that Taboga was founded
in 1515 or thereabouts.
For all its miniature drowsiness Taboga brought you to Panama
as much as it sent Pizarro on his cockleshell way to despoil the
Incas.
A top the island are modern radio aids your jet used in navigating
you here.
How To Visit Taboga
Regular launch service links Taboga with the mainland. Calypso
Queen • In Amador Causeway • Tel: (507) 314-1730,
for more information.
The boat ride under the Bridge of the Americas, across the mouth
of the canal, past the ships at anchor waiting to transit the
canal is an experience in itself.
Taboga island has a beautiful new hotel. It is called Vereda
Tropical Hotel, perched on a cliff overlooking the beach (see
insert photo above). European and Spanish architecture blend perfectly
and its 14 rooms are all themed in décor for different
countries, Peruvian, Greek and Mediterranean to name a few. A
gourmet restaurant with a different menu every day and a comfortable
bar with Bel Epoc motifs ensures a memorable stay. •
Call (507) 250-2154 or (507) 632-4151.
