Chepillo

About Chepillo:

Chepillo lies in the Gulf of Panama, just off the coast where the Bayano empties into the sea, and about 36 kilometres from Panama City over open water. It is not one of the Pearl Islands, although it faces the archipelago from the northern side of the gulf. Most people come over by launch from Puerto Coquira, the river port past Chepo town, and the crossing takes half an hour or a little more depending on the boat and the sea. Surf and fishing charters also run fast boats straight out from the city in about an hour. Tides in this part of the gulf rise and fall by several metres, so agree the return time with your boatman before you step ashore.

A couple of hundred people live here, most of them from families that have fished these waters for generations. The Jiménez family came over from Chepo to settle the island, other families from the region followed, and the village grew from there. Fishing is still the living, by small boat and on commercial vessels, and the island is known for its lobster, oysters and other shellfish. The village has its own school, named after Ciro Rivera, the island’s first representative, a church the residents built with their own hands between 1932 and 1934, a park, cement footpaths, a community well and a National Police presence. A small thermal plant on the island keeps the lights on around the clock, and a new dock takes the boats. Bigger errands mean crossing back to Coquira and driving on to Chepo.

The island is volcanic in origin, ringed by small beaches: La Capilla, La Angostura, Piñalito, Patotierra, La Poza, and Playa de la Cruz, where the first cross stood on its pedestal facing the sea. On the east side a right-hand point wave breaks over a rocky bottom and can give rides of around 200 metres; the west side has a second break that works less often. That wave is what draws most outsiders, along with day trips that leave Coquira in the morning, serve lunch on the beach and head back in the afternoon. Tourism is still small and mostly run from the mainland.

Island life follows its fiestas. From 1 to 3 May Chepillo celebrates the Holy Cross with music, drums and dancing, a pilgrimage on the 2nd to the spot where the original tree was cut, and the procession on the afternoon of the 3rd; each year one family takes charge of the organising, and a Señorita 3 de Mayo is chosen to represent the island. July brings a procession on the water for the Virgen del Carmen, and late September a mass and procession for San Miguel Arcángel. Most homes belong to families with long roots on the island, and outside interest has so far focused on the shoreline and what it could hold for tourism.

Houses in Chepillo:

Houses here are village homes along the main footpath and the lanes just off it, many on plots handed down within island families. Every sack of cement and every sheet of roofing arrives by boat, so construction is simple and repairs take planning. Before you agree on a price for one of the homes in Chepillo, look hard at the roof, the wiring and how the house gets its water. Then ask what the seller actually holds: on Panama’s islands plenty of plots have never been titled and pass from one owner to the next as possession rights.

Land and Concessions in Chepillo:

Larger pieces of land, above all stretches of beach frontage, work differently. Panama’s Constitution allows island land to be transferred only for specific development purposes and under set conditions, and beaches remain public whatever the paperwork says. That is why the bigger offers on Chepillo tend to come as tourism concessions: long leases from the State, granted for a project with an approved environmental impact study, rather than a sale. One recent example covered around four and a half hectares across the narrowest part of the island, with a beach on either side. If you are weighing a concession, read the remaining term, the approved project and the obligations attached to it as carefully as you would read a title.

FAQ:

• How do I get to Chepillo?

  Drive to Puerto Coquira, beyond Chepo, and take a launch; the crossing takes thirty to forty minutes. Day-trip operators run from the same port, and some charters leave directly from Panama City. There is no road and no bridge, so every visit, delivery and building job depends on the boat and the tide.

• Can I get a full title to land on the island?

  Sometimes, but do not assume it. Island land in Panama falls under special constitutional rules, the shore and beaches are excluded from private ownership, and many plots are held only as possession rights. Have a lawyer search the Public Registry for the exact parcel and confirm whether it is titled, in the process of titling, or held some other way.

• What is the difference between buying and taking a concession?

  With a concession you hold the right to use State land for an approved purpose, usually tourism, for a fixed number of years, and you pay for that right; the land itself stays with the State. It can suit a lodge or a beach project, but the value depends on the years left, the conditions attached and whether the environmental approval is current.

• What services are there on Chepillo?

  Electricity around the clock from the island’s own plant, a dock, a community well, a school, a church, a park and a police presence. Banking, hospital care and most shopping mean a trip back to Chepo.

• When is the island at its busiest?

  Early May, for the fiesta of the Holy Cross from the 1st to the 3rd, when shrimp boats anchor off the beach and visitors cross over from Coquira. Surfers come whenever a good swell lines up the point on the east side. The rest of the year the village keeps to the rhythm of the fishing.