Updated August 8, 2012: This article was then, much has changed, today I would not write the same thing. See this Post for more current information http://www.boqueteguide.com/?p=8262
Almost two years ago I visited a dusty, windy site proposing to be a major new development in Boquete Panama. When I drove into the gates of Montañas de Caldera I saw little that would suggest hundreds of houses in a planned North American styled community. On that first trip I met Jane, who along with her father John, are the developers of the project. Jane was located in a ramshackle building filled with plots, maps, drawings and promises. Even two years ago I knew many local projects never happen, many start then stop and only one, Valle Escondido seemed to be completed. As Jane waved her arms and painted a vision of the future, I smiled and thought, another pipe dream.
As serendipity would have it, Heather and I are currently residing in Montanas de Caldera. As our house is being renovated we are staying with our friends Geoff and Caroline who live in a three bedroom house surrounded by a lawn, trees and construction. Montanas de Caldera is taking shape, the visions of two years ago are the concrete forms of today.
Being an opportunist and currently very focused on construction I have used my vantage point to learn a bit more about the project. My friend Geoff is managing the project and at my request has taken the time to orient me to something unlike any other development project I have seen in Panama. In summary, Montanas is more like a planned community in the US than a project in Panama.
Two years ago Jane described the massive planned investment into infrastructure. Today you can see it or more correctly, you cannot. The water, sewage and electrical systems are all underground. The internal roads are laid out, many are paved, others close to completion. Instead of the traditional V drains, known as car traps, along the roads there is a real underground storm sewer system. It does not look like Panama.
Unlike other Boquete projects I have seen, water is not an issue and not dependent on the Municipo or a local Junta. Montanas has multiple springs on their property, they harvest water, pump it into storage tanks and are adding three more 330,000 liter tanks. In addition they are planning their own development wide filtering and UV treatment, so each house will not need to do filtration.
Equally impressive from the infrastructure perspective is the sewage treatment concept, actually the reality. Instead of septic tanks each house has it’s own mini active sewage treatment plant. The condos share a massive plant being installed. These are active bacterial processors that take raw sewage and produce water ready for UV treatment and drinking, not grey water. The cleaned water is being discharged into the alluvial drainage after treatment. I have never seen this type of practical environmental effort in any other project. There is a video of the system at this link. 
The image above is the underground chamber for the FAST sewage treatment plant being installed for the condominiums.
Unlike so many driveways I have seen in Panama the concrete being poured here has rebar in it, not just 3/16 wire or worse, nothing at all.
We have been living in one of the first houses completed in the project and had the opportunity to witness the construction in various phases of many others. After seeing disastrous projects around town and monitoring my own remodeling I am a curious observer.
Perhaps the most interesting observation is that few owners are on site. The construction is being managed by Geoff and his staff, which includes two on site architects, Wladimir and Giovanna. I have known Geoff for about two years and know he is a perfectionist. The process of implementing US standards into the construction has been an education for many of the local contractors and employees but Geoff will not accept less. Although occasionally frustrated by having things removed and replaced to his standards, he says the workforce is learning.
This is Giovanna in a condo kitchen checking on the tile installation. Unlike most other projects, Montanas has hired specialists to work on each house. They have plumbers, electricians, tile layers, roofing people on staff doing the trades in which they have been trained, instead of block layers installing pipe and wire.
Instead of adhering to the Panama electrical code which is the US electrical code of 1978 they have fought a battle to use the latest US code. Doors, cabinets, water pipe and more are being imported directly from the US, Australia and other points of origin. After watching local plumbers gluing PVC together at most projects I was impressed by the newer PEX plumbing system being used in the houses here, no glue joints to break. In general the project quality is to North American expectations.
After years of hearing horror stories it has been refreshing to find a project where the developers have the will and resources to actually follow through. Maybe that is why Montanas is continuing to sell lots and continuing to build houses while other projects in the area have come to a screeching halt.
If you are looking for property in Boquete Panama and want a North American style subdivision I suggest looking at all of those being constructed and then go to Montanas de Caldera and compare the vision and the reality of what is here.
In re-reading this I realized it reads like a marketing piece written for Montanas, it is not. I would not live in a planned community. However if I was looking for this lifestyle, Montanas is head and shoulders above the other projects I see being built in Boquete today, both in concept and execution.
It all sounds pretty impressive and after hearing horror stories of building projects,as well, it sounds like they would offer a painless and reassuring way of completing a project of home or condo building.
It also sounds like they are “aesthetically correct” however, I do have one little observation….
from my house in the mountains of Jaramillo, I have a dead on view of the development and from a distance see all that WHITE fencing. I think that a stone wall fence might have blended better with the surroundings and completed the thoughtfulness they have put into the project.
OLIVIA
What is the daytime temperature there?
From begin on, I was able to watch this project, and
the report is more then right. No marketing piece !
But leave the white fences or similar. That freshes up
the whole area.And – thank god – it makes it different !
See those millions of rocks in those hundreds of rock
walls in this area. By example Los Molinos. Except their
entry part, it looks like a stoney desert. HORRIBLE !
And to answer Robert. The climate is warm, but fresh air.
Mostly light breeze. The heavy winds go along the way
Brisas – Molinos – Emerald. And the views in Caldera are
priceless.
Architecture -as well as scenery, colors, etc.- is a matter of taste. I love Los Molinos, with all the stones from the Barú volcano that is a cherished part of my life, but I don´t like the location of the beautiful Valle Escondido. No doubt that the Montañas de Caldera area would be much more inspiring for me. I´ll try to use picture as a screen saver for a few days. Lee: thank you very much.
We absolutely love what they are doing at Montanas de Caldera, that is why we bought there. As soon as our home here in Washington state sells, We are on our way. We looked at many developments before choosing Montanas. We love the total package… Our sales person Cesar Vargas was great to work with. Jane and John have done a wonderful job putting together Montanas de Caldera. Their expertise shows. Anyone looking for a retirement destination should look at Montanas, they will not be disappointed.
We are presently building in Montanas de Caldera – our fourth home construction in the past 11 years (two in Spain and one in Coronado, Panama). We are delighted with the hassle-free progress and the true professionalism of the developers and their capable and friendly staff. We readily recommend the high quality, design and finish to anyone seeking a quality residence in Chiriqui.
You will want to talk to the property owners downstream from Montanas de Caldera. You can do all the pretty marketing that Montanas does, but lets look at his response to the questions that are being presented by the negative impacts of those who live downstream from this project. Would you like to print the daily wind volume that blows almost constantly in the dry season over this project, worried about the color of the fence, what about the run-of from hundreds of homes , roads, septic tanks that all go to the Caldera river. Talk to Frank at Rio Encantado for the other side of the “STORY”.
Frank any large project will cause disruption and flying sand. If you read what I wrote you would know there are no septic tanks at Rancho Caldera. They are doing active sewage treatment for all houses.
We are looking to expand our low voltage/ home theater business to panama.. We have done work in Costa rica and nicaragua…Is there opportunities in Panama/ Boquete? With all the expats moving and building, one would think that there is plenty of business there….
I readily recommend the high quality, design and finish to anyone seeking a quality residence in Chiriqui.
well, 2011 and take a look at Montanas now, or best yet, talk to the owner that lost his home & pool to the ladeslide that dumped all of this into the Caldera river. The bank is not suitable for building on, come and take a look at how I built and the enormous landslides on the same bank below me. These slides were from developement and the heavy rains of 2010, just imagine your living near the cliff with is in a earthquake zone, which it is.
But, as some do, they believe the sellors for profit
So much for serendipity.