First, an open admission: all of this is based on local legend and rumor, so don’t expect a university historian to corroborate it.
Now the juicy part: according to the locals, it’s unquestioned that Boca Chica island off the Panamanian coast, just 15 miles Southeast of the David airport, was the no- kidding hideout for the legendary Captain Morgan, of spiced rum fame.
And with one step out onto the island, it becomes clear why…
The Island remains, even to this day, both wonderfully isolated amidst primeval, moon-of-endor-like forests, and also home to the highest peaks on the coast.
If you don’t want to be seen, you simply will NOT be seen. But if you wanted to see others coming, you’d see them from miles and miles away, since the tallest peak on the island boasts an elevation of 300 feet and offers views all the way back to the Baru Volcano on the mainland, and all the way out to the Chiriqui Marine Park at sea. Either way, it makes for a perfect hideout for a pirate and a perfect fortress of solitude for a superhero.
Also, if you’re willing to go with local custom a bit further, you’d probably also want to know that this island, at least according to the myths, was sacred to the Incan Kings.
All of which means it would be hateful to every romantic bone in a man’s soul to turn the place into condos and restaurants -- which is why Emerging Terrains has dedicated itself to keeping the island a pristine sanctuary for the kind of lost boys and tinkerbells looking for such a place.
And if the legends don’t move you, perhaps the facts will:
Just the Facts:
- Boca Chica Island is a 400 acre island that’s a 10 minutes boat ride from Panama’s Pacic Coast in waters that are always calm.
- 99% of the island is covered in primary rainforest, which provides for a truly prehistoric and totally un-touched feel.
- Boca Chica Island borders Panama’s Chiriqui Gulf National Marine Park & the Hannibal Bank -- home to world-class fishing where 90% of the deep sea fishing records have been caught.
- Boca Chica Island is, in turn, surrounded by 50 other, smaller and uninhabited islands.
- We bought the entire island, including 400 acres of the island to include 5 contiguous miles of coastline.
Active Protection for Boca Chica Island’s Natural Beauty
So… unlike a lot of other Latin American real estate investors, our plan is never to buy utterly pristine land in order to create high-density developments of condos, parking lots, and tourist spots. that’s not how we create value.
We create value by finding pristine coastline that can be purchased cheaply and sold directly to the kind of adventurous, self-sufficient people who hunger for unspoiled beauty and privacy, and then we market directly to them.
And a big part of this business model involves protecting buyer’s investments through very low density (very few houses & lots of land) planning that actively protects the natural beauty of the island.
What’s Being Built and Planned for Boca Chica Island:
- Mango Bay Villa Estate - A villa designed to allow all of the comforts of home in an ancient setting. this is where prospective buyers stay when they come down to walk their reserved lots.

 - A small fishing lodge under development on the North point. We sold this portion of the island to an investor from Texas who shares our eco-friendly vision for the island and who is building his Simple-Is-Beutiful lodge on Boca Chica Island’s North Point.
- Monte Vida Park, a new 50 Acre Park we are forming expressly to protect and preserve the natural Rainforest while adding value to the surrounding land.
- Playa Mystica -- a low-impact development of 30 lots on 60 acres that will serve as the anchor community on the island. this is about a 1/5 of typical development density and assures that each lot has 100 feet of rainforest between it and the next structure.
About Playa Mystica
Just like for our earlier (nearly sold out) Playa Burica project, we are quietly and quickly assembling a group of like minded individuals and prospective buyers for Playa Mystica from all over the world. their backgrounds are varied but common values and traits that bind them together: 
- They all have a pioneering spirit -- meaning that they’re creators who are willing to step out and live their dream, even if that dream takes them a bit off the beaten path.
- Whether they're fishermen, sailors, backpackers, hikers, or explorers, they all have a need or hunger for nature and natural beauty. It feeds their souls more than most and they feel the need for it more than most.
- They all have the courage of their convictions -- men and women who, after doing their due diligence, are willing to push play on their plans, willing to actually DO the thing.
- They all know what does and does not make them happy, and are willing to abandon what doesn’t work for them in order to pursue what does. If you think you might be such a person, and if you’ve been looking either at Panama Real Estate or at finding your own piece of prestige coastline, you owe it to yourself to reserve your lot, come visit and decide for yourself.
