Amador

About Amador:

Amador takes up the northern part of La Chorrera district, with Lake Gatún to the north, Herrera and Hurtado to the south, Mendoza to the east and Iturralde to the west. Cerro Cama, its main village, is 34 kilometres from the centre of La Chorrera. The usual way in is the road that leaves the Panamericana at El Espino and runs north through La Colorada, and a second road links Cerro Cama with Mendoza. Potholes on that route are a long-running complaint, so drive it yourself before judging how far a property really is from town. The corregimiento dates from November 1929 and is named after Manuel Amador Guerrero, the country’s first president; the anniversary parade still sets off from the school in Cerro Cama every November.

Cerro Cama lies on a flat stretch between two low hills, Cerro Cama and Cerro Tigre, both cleared long ago for seasonal crops and improved pasture. That is the pattern across much of Amador: open cattle land, small cultivated plots, chickens in the yard and streams running north toward the lake. The village has its school, an Infoplaza and paved streets, and some 3,300 people live in the corregimiento as a whole. Beyond the village, homes are scattered across small settlements between Cerro Cama and the water.

At the northern edge, Lagartera and Lagarterita are fishing communities on Lake Gatún, where fishermen work the water from small boats. The municipality has recently improved the production road to Lagartera Grande, and from there boats cross the lake for fishing, water sports and hiking. The environment ministry keeps a sub-office at Lagarterita, so questions about felling trees, drawing water or working near the shore can be raised locally. Amador lies inside the Canal watershed, which is why land and water use near the lake get closer attention here than in La Chorrera’s urban corregimientos.

Water is the first thing to ask about. Cerro Cama’s rural aqueduct draws from the Río Tinajones and is run by a community water board; its treatment plant has been shut before over contamination fears, and the system was recently reinforced by CONADES. Outlying houses and many fincas rely on their own wells or on river water. In the rainy season, swollen streams and a damaged road can leave sectors such as La Loma in Cerro Cama cut off, so see a property after a heavy downpour if you can.

Fincas in Amador:

Fincas make up most of what is offered here: cattle land from a few hectares to several dozen, often with a country house, a well, a stock pond, fruit trees and a stream running through. Several sit on the paved road to Cerro Cama or a few minutes from the village, and that frontage is what separates them from parcels at the end of a dirt track. The house on a finca is usually plain, two or three bedrooms, sometimes with sheds or storerooms beside it. If you are comparing fincas for sale in Amador, walk the fences, look at the pasture in the dry season and ask whether the water source lasts all year.

Land and Lots in Amador:

Smaller parcels and house lots come up in and around Cerro Cama, mainly where the streets are paved and the aqueduct reaches. Sellers make a point of asphalt access and a title free of mortgages and liens, and both are worth confirming yourself. Inside the village, find out whether the lot has its own registered finca or whether its title still traces back to the land the municipality received in 1975, because the paperwork is different. Closer to the lake, check the plot’s elevation against the 100-foot Gatún contour before you plan any building.

FAQ:

• Is this the Amador on the Causeway in Panama City?

  No. The Amador with the Causeway and the Biomuseo belongs to the corregimiento of Ancón, in Panama City. This Amador is a rural corregimiento of La Chorrera on the shore of Lake Gatún, and its market is fincas and land rather than apartments.

• Will a finca or lot in Amador have running water?

  It depends on where it is. Homes in Cerro Cama are on the rural aqueduct fed by the Río Tinajones, which has had interruptions. Further out, properties often depend on a well or a stream, so ask how deep the well is, how much it gives and whether it holds up at the end of the dry season.

• Can I build close to Lake Gatún?

  Only above the 100-foot contour. Land below that level around Gatún is under Canal administration and must stay free of unauthorised occupation and use. Have a surveyor fix the elevation of the plot and of the building site before you sign.

• What should I check on a lot in Cerro Cama before buying?

  Start with where the land came from. The ground under the village passed to the municipality in 1975, so confirm whether the lot now has its own registered finca. Then pull the record at the Registro Público to see who owns it and whether there are liens, and walk the boundaries against the survey plan. On rural parcels outside the village, make sure you are buying titled land and not only possessory rights. Foreigners can buy here on the same terms as Panamanians.

• How bad is the road in the rainy season?

  Expect potholes on the main road to Cerro Cama, and side roads that suffer when streams rise; residents of La Loma have been cut off during floods. The road to Lagartera Grande has just been improved. Ask the neighbours how their access held up last rainy season before you commit.