Limones

About Limones:

The corregimiento runs south from the edge of Puerto Armuelles to Punta Burica, the tip of the peninsula, with Charco Azul bay along its eastern shore and the Costa Rican border two kilometres west of the point. The only road in starts in Puerto Armuelles and follows the gulf south past Charco Azul, where Petroterminal de Panamá runs its Pacific oil terminal. That road was paved as far as Limones village only in 2008; until then people moved by boat, on horseback or along the beach. South of the village it turns to dirt and potholes, and in the rainy season the stretch toward Bella Vista and Punta Burica can become hard or impossible to drive. At the very tip, a few hamlets still time their trips by the tide.

For a long time the whole area was simply called Burica, after the cacique who held these lands when the Spanish arrived. Later it was coconut country: families from Alanje came down in the dry season to press oil from the coconut groves, which were leased out to the highest bidder. In 1942 the United States put a small base at Calabazo, near Punta Burica, with Japanese submarines in mind, and its buildings were taken down in 1952. The corregimiento was created in 1961 and named after the deep pool at the boat landing, where a lemon tree gave shade to people waiting for the boats.

The 2023 census counted 1,159 residents, the smallest population of any corregimiento in Barú. Besides Limones itself, the communities include Puerto Balsa, Bella Vista, Burica, Caña Blanca, Quebrada de Tallo and Herbazales. Most families live from artisanal and sport fishing, small farms and cattle, and plenty of people make the daily trip to Puerto Armuelles for work. Tourism is growing slowly: floating cabañas in the bay at Limones, a handful of small lodges at Puerto Balsa and Punta Burica. Limones has a lower secondary school that runs organic gardens and looks after the Corpachí forest reserve, and Bella Vista, the last community down the peninsula, has its own school and a single shop.

The coast is a run of grey-sand beaches backed by coastal forest, with hills rising behind. Off the point lies Isla Burica, a small island of dry forest, and on the mainland opposite you can see howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins and squirrel monkeys. Conservation groups are working with the communities on a primate route for visitors, and that wildlife is a large part of what brings people out here. Because of the border strip, the land goes to Panamanian buyers: people after a beach plot, a place to fish from, or a small tourism project at the far end of the road.

Beachfront Lots in Limones:

Beach lots come up along the road between Limones and Puerto Balsa and at Puerto Balsa itself, in sizes from under a quarter of a hectare to close to a full hectare. Many sit a little above the grey sand, with the sea in front and the hills behind. Some are fully titled. Others combine a titled core with an extra strip held only as possession rights, and the two are not worth the same, so ask for the survey plan and see exactly where the titled part ends. The beach in front is public in Panama: the lot stops where the sand begins, and the sand stays open to everyone. Sellers of beachfront lots in Barú lean on the view; give the drive out and the water supply the same attention.

Land and Lots in Limones:

Across the road from the shore, the higher plots look out over the gulf, and sea-view land in Limones often comes in parcels of close to a hectare. Larger holdings come up too, some running to dozens of hectares of hill land behind the coast. Past the end of the asphalt, put the road into the price: a parcel near Bella Vista or Punta Burica can be cut off by car for part of the rainy season. Ask where power and water come from, and how far each one is from the boundary, before you sign.

FAQ:

• Can a foreigner buy land in Limones?

  Not in their own name. The Constitution bars foreign individuals, and companies with foreign capital, from owning land within ten kilometres of the border, and the Panamanian side of the Burica peninsula is narrow enough that all of Limones falls inside that strip. Ownership is open to Panamanian citizens and to companies whose capital is entirely Panamanian. If you are neither, talk to a Panamanian lawyer before you pay any deposit.

• What does it mean when a beach lot is part titled, part possession rights?

  The titled part is registered in the property registry, so it can be sold or mortgaged without trouble. The possession-rights part is land the seller occupies and uses but has never titled, and turning it into title goes through the national land authority and takes time. Close to the shore, some of that strip may never be titled at all, because the beach belongs to the state. Look up the finca number in the registry, compare what it covers with what is being measured out for you, and price the rest for what it is.

• Can I drive to the land all year?

  Up to Limones village, yes, on asphalt from Puerto Armuelles. South of there it is a dirt track that deteriorates badly once the rains set in, and on some days a car will not get through to Bella Vista or the point. Hamlets right at the tip are still reached along the shore at low tide. If the land you like is past the village, go and see it in October, not in March.

• Where do people in Limones go for shopping and services?

  To Puerto Armuelles, which has the shops, the commercial centre and most of the jobs, and which is the only way out by road. Limones village has a lower secondary school, and Bella Vista has a school and a corner shop. For anything more, plan on the drive up the coast.