Page 89 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

Isla Taboga Panama City 87
Isla Taboga 1
Just 20km off the coast and a short boat-ride away, the lush hills of Isla Taboga have
provided a popular weekend escape for Panama City residents since the capital’s
sixteenth-century foundation. After the frenetic energy of the capital, the island’s relaxed
atmosphere makes for a welcome break and the views from its vantage points are well
worth seeking out. Packed on summer weekends and holidays, at other times the place
can feel gloriously deserted. Most visitors are day-trippers who spend their time lounging
on the indifferent Restinga beach, bathing in the shallow waters and strolling the
traffic-free streets of San Pedro fishing village, where most of the island’s thousand-odd
inhabitants live. However, it’s definitely worth summoning up the energy to do one of
the island’s two walks; other popular diversions include boat trips, which, in the nesting
months of January to June, allow close-ups of pelicans thrusting fish down the gullets of
their squawking chicks. There is also reasonable snorkelling on the far side of Taboga and
Isla El Morro and around a wreck off Isla Urabá, though currents can be strong.
Much of the island, together with neighbouring Isla Urabá, comprises a wildlife refuge
for a large colony of brown pelicans – check with MiAmbiente (see box, p.42) if you want
to visit. Elsewhere, hibiscus, bougainvillea and sweet-smelling jasmine are in evidence, but
the succulent pineapples for which the island is traditionally famous are now a rarity.

Brief history
Taboga’s present-day tranquillity belies a turbulent past. The Spanish arrived in 1515, and
wasted no time in enslaving and removing the native Cueva Indians before populating
the island with freed slaves from elsewhere and constructing a fort on the adjoining Isla El
Morro – its cannons are sprinkled round the island. Taboga’s excellent natural harbour has
crucially shaped the island’s history, forming the base for Francisco Pizarro’s expeditions
against the Incas, as well as for pirates including Morgan and Drake. After an English
steamship company established its headquarters on Isla El Morro, Taboga became a
Panama City
ACCOMMODATION
ISLA TABOGA Cabañas Verde Mar 1
Cerrito Tropical B&B 3
Playa
Restinga Isla El Morro Hotel Vereda Tropical 2
EATING
Calaloo 2
Restaurante Mundi 1
Jetty
Playa
Honda Golfo de
Iglesia P anamá
San Pedro
Sendero de las Tres Cruces
Las Tres Cruces
Cerro Vigía
(307m)

REFUGIO DE VIDA
SILVESTRE DE TABOGA MIA office Cerro de
N la Cruz
Isla Urabá

0 1
kilometre

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