FEMALE ON THE FLOOR! Taboga Island 1

Santa Rosa de Lima was conceived on Isla Taboga. The first saint of this hemisphere, was born on Isla Taboga. According to Taboga historians, the parents of the young girl who was later to be canonized lived in a charming house on the beach near Playa Hondo on the northern side of the island. The house still exists today, although somewhat modernized. Later, the family moved to Peru where Peruvians refer to the saint as Santa Rosa de Lima de Taboga. She was known best for her humility and kindness to those in need. Her caring nature spread quickly, and the sick, the lame, and the suffering came to her for comfort and guidance for their salvation. She is also known in many other parts of South America and in Mexico and also in the Philippines.


Welsh Buccaneer Henry Morgan plundered Isla Taboga. Beginning in the latter part of the 16th century, many came to the shores of Isla Taboga in a search of gold, pearls, and other riches of the seas. Pirates were among them. In 1671, Morgan, after sacking Panama City, sent his pirates to the island with instructions to burn everything to the ground and bring back all the gold, silver, and merchandise worth its salt. Hawkins is said to have turned the island into a trading center for his plundered goods. More pirates came to Isla Taboga, and logic says buried treasure must abound. In 1998, that logic panned out when workers preparing to set the foundation for the island's new Health Clinic unearthed 1000 pieces of silver dating back to the 17th century.



Post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. In 1887, after working a short stint for the French effort to build a canal, the French Post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin came to Isla Taboga looking for a place to paint far from parisian fanfare and conventionalities. Some say he tried to buy a house on the island using his Peruvian grandmother's money. Perhaps we can say the island life wetted his appetite for the simpler things in life, as reflected in his use of bright colors and flat perspective. From Isla Taboga, Gauguin went to French Martinique before moving on to Tahiti where the subjects for his paintings later brought him fame and glory. His colorful paintings that were later to reflect his eye for beauty most certainly were first conceived on Isla Taboga, the Island of Flowers.

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