Isla Taboga
The wavy, 45-minute boat ride on the Calypso Princess made Spud a little clingy ($5 per person, one-way). Our little hotel was brand new, nicely designed and comfortable but it had no kitchen in the room and we discovered there was no hot water which made it difficult to bathe the boy. Thankfully the staff in the restaurant downstairs were helpful with bottles and milk etc. The boy enjoyed a variety of foods including half a plantain which we were later told by Nino, our odd but likable host, should only be eaten cooked and would be very bad for a baby raw. Fortunately his pipes held up well.
Things we’ve enjoyed on the island were the fireworks on Fisherman’s day, the regular tiny ring of the church bell, the gorgeous and ubiquitous bougainvillea, the whole fried fish with fried yucca, ketchup and hot sauce, big yummy shrimp, warm rain, passion fruit con secco (Panamanian boozy beverage).
Other things on the island: backward expats, mosquitos at dusk, and a serious water shortage. We stayed here for 3 days and soaked up the paradise as much as we could. But it was the last time we stayed in a place without a kitchen.