Dear Family and Friends,

Here are the photos from Tabogo, the ‘Island of Flowers’, an island 8 miles off Panama City, in the Gulf of Panama.

Just close enough to go for the day, the beaches on Tabogo are crowded at the weekend, families and large cool boxes squash under the huge umbrella that can be seen in the distance. Motor boats crowd the bays and its party party. The original town was settled before Panama city and boasts the 2nd oldest church in Latin America, sadly closed on a Sunday afternoon. The older town played a role in the early development of the area and the building of the canal, acting a a supply base and convalescent hospital for the workers building the canal. One famous worker, Paul Gauguin, came here to recover from some local fever and is celebrated with his own plaque and some wall paintings.

Religious shrines can be seen on the houses, beside the roads and on the sea shore, along side the vultures! The flowers in the town were lovely, just not sure whether the many paths away from town would be as rewarding, or perhaps we had arrived out of season, it had a look of late season about it!

Next up les Perles!

All our best,

Lynne and Alan