80 Steps to White Sand and Blue Water

THE SETTING: Our condo is in the newly-constructed Sanctuary building of the Playa Caracol Residences and Beach Club. It is a ground floor unit with private patio and lawn, close to the pool, with a stunning view of the verdant Chame Mountains. The pool area is a dozen steps away from our patio. A one-minute walk will take you to the brilliant, white-sand Playa Caracol beach. Turn right and you can walk for 5 kilometers along the unspoiled, undeveloped dunes until reaching the point where the Rio Chame empties into the Pacific Ocean. Turn left and you can walk 3.5 kilometers to the tidal estuary of Boca de Chame. If you don't feel like walking, you can settle into one of the condo’s beach lounge chairs and watch the frigatebirds and pelicans gliding over the waves. Whatever your choice, this is the tropical Pacific at its finest.
THE CONDO: All condos are not the same, even if they share similar floor plans. We could have purchased a smaller beach-front unit, but instead chose a larger unit that is bright and airy with an open floor plan, includes access to our own tiled patio and green space, and avoids the discomfort of beach sand constantly blowing into the unit. Rather than accept the developer’s basic furniture package, we enlisted a talented designer to create a tastefully-furnished interior that was comfortable, relaxing, and visually pleasing. The living/dining area and each of the two bedrooms have air-conditioning, and there are ceiling fans in the living room, master bedroom, and on the patio. The unit has a fully-furnished kitchen and laundry, and comes with its own secure wifi and local cable service. We recently added patio furniture, a TV console with flat screen in the living room, and luxury bedding for the master bed (these are not yet shown in our profile photos, but will be as soon as we receive the new images). The master bedroom has a comfortable queen bed and sitting area, and the second bedroom has two twin beds that can be moved together and bridged to create a king bed upon request. The bed and bath linens are high quality, and there is ample closet space in both of the bedrooms. The tiled pool has a shallow shelf area complete with lounge chairs as well as the deeper section, and there is an outdoor shower and community barbecue grill beneath the pergola.
SECURITY AND ACCESS: Playa Caracol Residences takes security seriously. To reach our unit one must drive through two separate gated barriers, one at the entrance to the development, and the second to enter the Sanctuary building area. A digital key code is then required to enter the Sanctuary building, followed by another digital lock to enter the rental unit. The development security guards perform frequent foot patrols throughout the day and night (including the wee hours of the morning!). All of the details of access and security will be reviewed with each tenant by our on-site property manager.
AMENITIES AND ACTIVITIES: The Playa Caracol Residences development is still in the early stages, with the emphasis to date having been on the residential units and associated common areas. Commercial, retail, and eatery establishments will follow as the development builds out and can support them. There is a beach club and surf school adjacent to the Sanctuary building where drinks and food may be purchased, along with other beach items of interest. For everything else, a 20-25 km drive west into Coronado or Nueva Gorgona is in order.
Coronado provides many options, including some excellent restaurants and cafes, several grocery stores (including gourmet ones), salon services, and major Panamanian banks (with ATMs). It has a fairly large expat population. Alternatively, you could head 56 km in the other direction to Costa Verde where you'll find larger shopping malls, big box stores like PriceSmart (formerly Costco), and more really good eating options.
Panama City is only 87 km away and is an incredibly beautiful waterfront city, blending centuries of history and culture with the ultramodern. It boasts colonial neighborhoods with quaint shops, the international business district with skyscrapers that will make your neck hurt, high-end malls with international designer brand shopping, world class restaurants throughout, and of course, the world-famous Panama Canal.
There are also worthy excursions if one drives inland from Playa Caracol. Notable among these is El Valle de Antón, a small town sited within the rims of an extinct volcano and famous for its produce and flowers. El Valle offers attractions like hiking, ziplining, waterfalls, hot springs, orchid nurseries, botanical gardens, the Nispero zoo, and its famous Sunday market.
TRANSPORTATION: Tocumen International Airport in Panama City is modern and efficient. We strongly suggest renting a car. We can recommend a reasonably-priced rental provider (in Coronado) who can either meet you at the airport with your rental or provide shuttle service between the airport and Coronado. Highways are very good. While public transportation within the country, cities and towns is very good and reasonably priced, there is no public transportation to Playa Caracol from the airport.
RULES: We are not really into rules, but the few we have are important, and there are also some points of guidance:
• The unit is strictly no smoking, including the hallways. Smoking in the unit will result in immediate eviction and loss of the damage deposit.
• No pets of any kind.
• We love children and they are welcome regardless of their age.
• The tap water in the condo is safe to drink.
• No surfboards, boogie-boards, sail boards, or wet dive gear inside the unit. If leaving them outside, remember that at times the winds can be quite strong
• We supply towels specifically for the pool and beach, so please remember to bring them back and don’t take the bathroom towels outside, nor hang anything outside to dry. Also please use the outdoor shower to rinse the sand off before re-entering the unit, and leave the community BBQ clean if you use it.
• One of the challenges of living in Panama is that electric service can be subject to spikes, surges, and outages. We provide surge protectors for your electronics and strongly encourage you to use them, but cannot assume any responsibility for damage caused by power spikes, nor guarantee that outages will not occur during your stay.