17km into the Pacific from Panama City lies Taboga, the 'Island of Flowers'.
Its history is as colourful as its soubriquet, ransacked by pirates but also used to store their bounty.
In 1998 construction of a new medical facility unearthed over 1000 17th century silver coins, with much more buried treasure still to be found beneath the island's rich earth-as local tales would have you believe.
Painter Paul Gauguin retreated to the island after his stint with the French canal project, influencing his use of colour in later paintings.