Isla Taboga

Although I frequently drive down the Amador Causeway and get a very clear view of that island I really did not know anything about it other than people being able to take the ferry out there daily; that many of the Carnaval customs came out of there and they hold some ofthe biggest celebrations; that the population there is very low. I was amazed at some of the historical facts I found out about it and thought I would share it with you. A lot of it I find quite interesting and hope you do too.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa, 16th century Spaniard credited with the first citing of the Pacific Ocean, and the first Spaniard to set foot on the dot called Isla de San Pedro. The name Taboga was later adopted from the Indian term "aboga" meaning many fish. Nearly 450 years after its founding the island maintains the simplicity of bygone days.

Iglesia San Pedro is claimed to be the second oldest church in the Hemisphere. The early settlers came from Venezuela and Nicaragua. They were enslaved indigenous indians who were brought to serve the needs of the Spanish Conquistadors.

The village of San Pedro was founded in 1524 by Padre Hernando de Luque, dean of the Panama Cathedral, who also lived on the island. He also provided funds to Francisco Pizarro and Diego Almagro before they set off on their conquest of the flourishing Inca Empire. Ruins still remain of those days of the conquistadors and early settlers.

Padre Luque raised vegetables and fruits on his plantation and his pineapples could well be the progenitors of the pineapple patches that pepper the island today, and some say the Hawaiian pineapple was developed through cross pollination with the Taboga pineapple. The Taboganos still venerate the priest by referring to a crystalline pool in the folds of Picacho de Vigia, the highest point on the island, as the "Pope's Pool."

Santa Rosa de Lima was conceived in Taboga ~ the first saint of this hemisphere. According to historians, the girl lived on a house in Playa Hondo on the nothern side. The house still exists today. The family later moved to Peru where she is known as Santa Rosa de Lima de Taboga. She is known for her humility and kindness to those in need. Many came to her for comfort and to learn more about their salvation. she is very well known in South America, Mexico and the Philippines.

El Morro, the little island you can walk to. Linked to the island at low tide by a sandbar, is El Morro, a small rocky islet where at the end ofthe 17th century the Spaniards established a fort to defend Taboga. During the wars of Independence, it was the three cannons in El Morro that 10 soldiers fought the attacks of Englishman John Illingworth, the Chilean warship Rosa de los Andes, and the Peruvian Frigate Pichincha.

The Three Crosses. In a later attack by John Illingworth, the invaders took Taboga. The inhabitants fleeing to the hills. Three of the invaders were killed and buried by the villagers who marked their graves with wooden crosses. Within the passing of years, cast iron crosses embeded in a mortar base replaced the wooden markers. To this day, Taboganos in the vecinity of "Las Tres Cruces" never fail to light a candle in memory of the three that dared to disturb the peace of their little island.

Isla Taboga and the Panama Canal. The island also played an important role in the construction of the Panama Canal. In the 1880's the French constructed a 50 bed $400,000 retreat for their canal workers attempting to build a canal. This same building was taken over by the United States in 1905 and used as rest and recuperation center for the Panama Canal construction workers. It served this purpose until 1915, when it became a vacation resort for the employees and their families and was known as Hotel Aspinwall. During World War I Aspinwall became an internment camp for German prisoners. After the war it was once again the hub of Taboga social life until 1945. Aspinwall is gone but many recall its activities and the part it played in the by-gone era.

PT Boats in World War II. During World War II, the US Navy had a "mosquito base" training in El Morro. The heroic record of these boats in the Pacific theatre of war proved the efficiency of officers and sailors of El Morro. IslaTaboga was also the site of attempted Japanese espionage when spy Yoshitaro Amana, head of a Japanese spy ring, tried to set up a commercial business on the island so that the Japanese could ascertain which ships were transiting the Panama Canal. He was discovered in a sting operation and deported back to Japan. Also gun placements at strategic points on Isla Taboga and lookout points atop El Morro, made it possible to increase security in the Panama Canal.

US Presence in Isla Taboga in Panama history is a treasured past and for Taboganos. Military and civilian personnel integrated themselves with island life and provided services which included improving infrastructure and providing medical services. They brought entertainment to the island by creating an outdoor cinema, participating in sports and constructing the island pier to serve visitors. Taboganos old enough to remember recall with enthusiasm the days of US military presence on the island.