Taboga Island Panama
Traveling Outside the Box
All-inclusive resorts with their hordes of tourists, security guards & wristbands make me shudder. Eco-tours that promote white water rafting, rock climbing & mile high suspension bridges scare the hell out of me. Cruise ships? I’d jump overboard and start swimming for the nearest deserted island. So what’s left? I found my perfect destination – Taboga Island Panama and Bed and Breakfast Lodge Cerrito Tropical.
I’m an independent traveler – female, 57 (at last count), in so-so shape with a moderate budget who enjoys going to tropical destinations to experience everything a place has to offer – the local culture & people, fishing, hiking, & general exploring. But! I also want to do it at my own pace, with or without other people; whatever the mood strikes me at that particular moment.
Taboga Island Panama has everything including my adopted home-away-from-home, a local Bed & Breakfast Lodge called Cerrito Tropical. From its perch high upon a hill, I get up to a spectacular sunrise and a view of the ships waiting their turn to enter the Panama Canal. The resident chef, Aristides, has the Panamanian coffee on by now (the man never sleeps!) so with cafe con leche in hand I ponder what adventures, if any, I’m going to take on that day.
Should I walk down to the beach to collect sea glass at low tide? If I’m lucky I just might find the ever elusive red glass. I better take a beach bag. Or, I could go fishing instead. Fresh Corvina (sea bass) for dinner sounds great. I’ll need to get the boat ready & my fishing gear.
Or, I could kayak over to the coral gardens and see how many different tropical fish swim underneath me. Better yet, I might pass within seeing & hearing distance of a whale or two breaching the surface, not to mention dolphins. I’ll need the camera for photos around Taboga Island Panama. And, there’s always a walk through the rainforest for some bird watching then over to the north beach to collect rocks. I’ll need my backpack for those. Of course, there’s always the possibility of parking myself in a lounge chair on the beach under an umbrella and going in for the occasional dip to cool off.
Decisions, decisions. I think I’ll have another cup of that delicious Panamanian coffee served up at B & B Cerrito Tropical and ponder a bit longer what to do in my favorite destination, Taboga Island Panama.
Mara Mack
Canada
