The Lost Paradise of Panamá

Las Tablas is a city in western Panama located on the Azuero Peninsula. It’s in the province of Los Santos between the towns of Chitre and Pedasi. This is one of the most traditional places in all of Panama. The tableños as they refer to themselves, are very proud of their Spanish history. The area is rich with folkloric festivals throughout the year. The largest, and considered by many Panamanians the best, is the carnaval. Carnavales are held throughout the republic every year a few days prior to Ash Wednesday.

Las Tablas has several inexpensive hotels and excellent restaurants. There is a museum and a nice church. There are several smaller towns and villages in the area where you might see traditional hat weaving using colored plant fibers, or a woman designing a pollera dress which is the most beautiful of all the national costumes of Panama. The Pacific Ocean is nearby and there are several beaches. Many people use Las Tablas as a hub to get to Pedasi, a town at the end of the peninsula. They take a bus from the national terminal in Panama City, get off at Las Tablas, and then take a smaller van down the coast to Pedasi. This area also has nice beaches as well as surfing.

Church in Las Tablas

In western Panama on the Pacific side, south of David and the small town of Alanje, is Barqueta Beach. There is a hotel here, but also rentals, and miles of dark sandy beach. The waves can be a little high, and there have been swimming accidents.  Be very careful unless you are a strong swimmer.

If you get too hot, thirsty or hungry, there are bohíos where you can stop to get a cold beer. Or, you can hang-out by the pool and watch the iguanas and other lizards play.

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Cerro Punta is a small village in the western highlands of Panama. It’s located along the slopes of Volcan Baru, Panama’s highest peak. Near the border of Costa Rica is the town of Concepcion. Drive north up a winding asphalt road to the city of Volcan. Beyond Volcan is the scenic Bambito Hotel and Resort. It’s a wonderful place to stop and walk around. It’s also one of the few places, maybe the only place in Panama, where I was not able to negotiate a price for one night.

A few kilometers up the road is the village of Cerro Punta. We stayed at Hotel Cerro Punta, and there is an onsite restaurant with a most gracious host. Nearby there is a hostal named Elvita. Although we did not stay there, from what I could see, it was popular with hikers.

A few kilometers up the road, and where the asphalt ends before the continental divide, is Guadalupe.

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In western Panama between Volcán and Cerro Punta, nestled in the mountains along a winding road, is the Bambito Hotel. In contrast to other places you pass along the way, Bambito is quite different. As you slowly come around a curve you will see a high cliff to your left, and then a large landscaped garden and several ponds on your right. Not only is the resort in an ideal and exotic location, but it is also very clean. You won’t find any garbage or plastic bags blowing around here. Even if you don’t stay overnight, stop and explore the area for an hour or so before continuing on up to Cerro Punta.

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I have always liked Isla Taboga since my first visit back in the late 70′s. Part of what I liked about it was that it never seemed to change. If it did, it was at a snail’s pace.

One big change came in 2007 when the former Hotel Taboga was demolished, and there has yet to be a replacement. There was quite a bit of talk for a few years about condos and a marina, but so far nothing has materialized. The ruins of the old hotel are still here at Playa Restinga and El Morro. I can picture its former beauty in my mind. I’ll never forget. And I hear, literally, the peacocks, now hiding in the jungle, as they call to each other.

There are small huts on Restinga, up along the former Hotel Taboga wall. They can be rented for the day. And among the ruins are vendors that will cook or get you a cold cerveza. In-between cooking corvina or renting out umbrellas and chairs, they play cards and dominos.

A couple of places to stay, (and there are others) are the Vereda Tropical and Cerrito Tropical. I have stayed at both and they are fine. On this last trip I met the expat owner/ operator of the Agua Sol Villa. My family and I had dinner over Taboga Bay, and Ted told us about the five rooms he has available. It’s a beautiful place in an ideal location.

I finally saw, after I don’t know how many excursions to Taboga, the elusive neon green and black dart frog. I spotted it on a section of PVC pipe just as I started up the jungle trail to The Three Crosses, and I was able to get a picture before it hopped into the dark foliage.

We were a little bewildered on the far side of Taboga. I took the wrong trail and we came out on the Wild Life Refuge side and discovered where the pelicans nest. It was quite a nesting area. And then another first. I met a traveler off of the beaten path. A Scotsman from Edinburgh who liked the myriad of butterflies that call Taboga home. I pointed the way for him to find The Three Crosses, the gravesite of three pirates who were killed during one of many attacks over the centuries.

Things are changing on little Isla Taboga. There was a time when you never saw a car. Now there are several small trucks, vans, golf carts and at least one noisy moped. As we found out when we crossed over the top of Taboga, the daily flights out to the Pearl Islands screech by very close. All the same, if you are in the area, I would highly recommend the trip. The island is beautiful, and it has a colorful history.

Isla Taboga — Island of Flowers

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