Ojo de Agua, Panama

Here are some photos from the public boat ramp in the small town of Cañas. This is the nearest boat ramp to Ojo de Agua and one of the most protected ones in the area. There is already one private boat storage and another under construction near the launch. Notice the grass hut in one of the pictures. This is the neighbor next to the completed boat storage. Panama, land of contrasts.

Cañas is a small town located on the mainland near the mouth of the Cañas Estuary. If searching a map, Cañas is just north of the eastern tip of Cañas Island, roughly centered between Playa Venao/Venado and the town of Bucaro. Cañas is a typical small Panamanian town that has a Catholic church, public school, hardware store, a few small tiendas (general store), a few restaurants and plenty of cantinas.

This public boat ramp was recently constructed and is only a few minutes from the property in Ojo de Agua. The Cañas estuary is one of the only protected waterways in this part of Panama. Shielded from the waves of the Pacific Ocean by Isla Cañas, the protected estuary offers a great place to launch. Due to the extreme tidal fluctuations here in Panama, one most launch and retrieve their boat around medium or high tide. Once launched mariners navigate about 40 minutes westward through the mangrove lined estuary which merges with the Tonosi and Viejo rivers near where their mouths spill out into the Pacific Ocean near Bucaro, a small local fishing village located between Tonosi and Guanico.

I also included a photo of the sign announcing that the road is to be repaved from Cañas to Tonosi. Ojo de Agua is two kilometers to the west of Cañas heading towards Tonosi. Those of us that drive this road everyday know that it is one of the worst main roads in the area. I have been hearing for two years that this road is going to be rebuilt. The new road will cut the time down by half to go to Tonosi. Finally! The government has erected the official sign and roadwork has started.

When in the area take a drive through Cañas or catch a boat and visit the island for turtle watching, I may see you there.

Take Care,

Charlie

quebrada: gully, ravine, stream

There are many quebradas around the property, many deeper and larger than others. Too steep to haul out lumber from cut trees and to rocky for cattle to graze, quebradas are some of the rare areas in this heavily deforested part of Panama that are still relatively untouched. Quebradas are diverse ecological pockets where monkeys, iguanas, birds, and other species of local wildlife live. Fortunately, these shady, cool, reprieves from the tropical sun, are public right of ways and legally protected by the Republic of Panama.

The property in Ojo de Agua is bordered on three sides by very deep quebradas. Although I have briefly explored some of these valleys before, I never took the time to really appreciate their natural beauty. Yesterday, I decided to take a break and hike in the bottom of one and snap some photos to share.

Soon, we will start clearing trails through and around the quebradas, offering special areas for owners and guests to exercise, bird watch, hike, meditate and relax. I will keep everyone posted as we make progress. For now I hope everyone enjoys the photos.

Charlie

Lot 1 Pacific Ocean View

A good friend with a much better camera than mine took a walk around the property snapping photos from different angles. He was kind enough to give them to me so I would like to share them. Here are some of the photos he took with my descriptions.

I highly recommend clicking on the photos for a detailed view. Wow! What a difference a good camera makes.

Balsa Trees less than one year old

These Balsa trees sprouted in disturbed earth on the fill slope at the entrance of the drive to Lot 3. Although hard to tell in the photo some of these trees are over 20ft tall. I originally planned to plant grasses on this slope to avoid erosion. Luckily for me nature has away of taking over and thankfully I did not have to do any planting.

Drive/Road

This photo and the one below are both of the same part of the road just from different ends. The above photo is from the entrance of Lot 1 looking back towards the entrance of Lot 2. The ocean is visible in the background.

Drive/Road

This photo is from the entrance of the Lot 2 homesite towards the homesite of Lot 1. The large flat area at the end of the road is the main homesite of Lot 1. Notice the leftside of the road is lined with a tall grass. Locally called Valariana, it looks like a tall sawgrass and is known for its erosion control use. The roots spread out to 3 meters and it will grow in almost any type of soil. I planted this to control erosion of the fill slopes of the road and to create a visual barrier for those not accustomed to driving in the mountians. It has performed incredibly! To get an idea of the size of the homesite, look close, I am walking at the end of the drive.

Fruit Trees

This is one of the hillsides above Lot 1 and Lot 2 planted with various fruit trees; Mangos, Oranges, Guavas, Papayas, Cashews and more. These trees will attract many local birds and other indeginous animals.

Distant view of Cañas Island

The pictures featured in this post are from one afternoon late in last years dry season when I drove from Playa Venao to Las Tablas .

El Valle de Tonosi

Instead of going the Pedasi route, I decided to head west from Venao and take the “mountain road” to Las Tablas. Passing by the property in Ojo de Agua, there is a turnoff just before Cacao, a small town between Agua Buena and Tonosi, that leads north through the tiny town of Flores and on to provincial capital Las Tablas.

At the time these photos were taken the road was under repair and the drive was slow and bumpy. Along the way I took advantage of the slow pace and snapped some photos while passing through the small mountain villages of Nuario, La Miel and Valle Rico. The “mountain road” has since been completely repaired and now from Ojo de Agua the drive to Las Tablas is a smooth 45 minutes, about the same time to drive to Pedasi. The views are breathtaking and the weather in these higher altitude regions is considerably cooler and windier, a welcomed change from the warmer humid beach areas where I spend most of my time.

Valle de Tonosi and Buenos Aires

Although the end of the dry season can be extremely dry, notice the color of the hills in the pictures, never the less, the landscape remains stunning.

Cows grazing near Las Tablas

It has been especially rainy today and I am dreaming of those cloudless dry season days. Browsing through my photo archive I found these and thought I would share them. If passing through the area, take this route and enjoy the view.

Charlie

View from Nuario

Cedro Espino or Spiny Ceder

Right now here in Ojo de Agua we are in the middle and worst half of the rainy season. The weather has been horrible for any type of construction or earth moving, but great for the plantation of trees we planted in June of last year.   

Macano Negro

The trees are growing rapidly on the mix of torrential down pours and hot tropical sun. To my surprise, some of the many Cedro Espino (Spiny Ceder), Nim and Papaya trees are up to 10 feet tall!   Now that the fruit and hardwood trees have had a solid year to lay down roots, fertilizing and heavy pruning have been our priority.  This rainy/planting season we have added around 70 more trees, mostly Cuban Palms and more Nim trees, filling in some of the unplanted gaps around the first phase of the property.  We have already been able to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor.  The Papayas, Tropical Apples, Guayaba and Mangos taste sweet and delicious. I can not believe that in less than a year we are eating fruit from the vine.

Fruit Trees

Also, this year we have been very busy planting colorful Boganvilllas, Crotans and other native flowering shrubs throughout the property. We specifically targeted dry season blooming plants that once mature will need limited watering and maintenance.

Coconut Palms

It is a beautiful experience watching, what only a year ago, was bare cattle pasture land quickly returning to natural forest.  I am excited to see the coming changes in the following years.  I placed a shovel next to some of the trees for perspective in the pictures.   Most of these trees were less than a foot tall when planted.  

Enjoy,

Charlie Botts

Papaya

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This development of the country and its potential has led to an influx of overseas property investors seeking to take advantage of the growth of international business and also the tourism opportunities that are available in a country that has coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Continue Reading »

Why multinationals are increasingly choosing Panama as a regional hub for their operations.

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