Despite languishing in relative obscurity behind Panama's more prominent draws like the Canal, the Pearl Islands and Bocas del Toro, the Los Santos province of Panama should rightly be considered one of the country's liveliest regions.
It is fairly bursting at the seams with cultural celebrations, natural attractions, beautiful beaches and adventure.
It is no surprise then, that it is now becoming the site of intense international interest, as celebrities and tourists flock to Panama's heartland.
Los Santos is a curious blend of real-world cowboy country, seaside magic, folkloric charm and thousands of years of history, all of it inhabited by incredible tropical biodiversity.
It's a place where quiet pastures stretch endlessly into the horizon, bordered by miles and miles of nearly deserted sandy coastline, and occasionally broken by the dramatically rounded hills that stand guard over the southern coast.
Today, a real estate frenzy is building in the quiet, rural province, in particular on the Azuero Peninsula, which takes up the lion's share of the Los Santos territory.
Surfers, travelers, international celebrities, sportfishers and real estate buyers are all making their way along the PanAmerican Highway to see what the fuss is all about.
"There's no doubt there is a magnetic pull to Los Santos, and we find that many of our clients are those who heard about it from someone else - it's not yet fully on the radar, but those that have been here immediately fall in love," says Daniel Rudasevski of Andromeda Ocean Estates, a luxurious beachfront gated community under way in Pedasi, Los Santos.
Los Santos: Sea, Sun, Sand and Surf If Panama's more well known attractions tend to eclipse that fact that it is indeed a lush, tropical country with as much coastline as inland, a visit to Los Santos serves as an excellent reminder.
An undeniably huge part of the Los Santos charm lies in the miles and miles of virtually deserted beaches that extend into the Azuero Peninsula.
"We are fortunate in having two beautiful pristine beaches framing our community," says Mr Rudasevski of Playa El Toro and La Garita, which spill before Andromeda Ocean Estates, "but in truth there is so much to choose from here - the peninsula is ringed with great beaches.
" The Pacific waters are warm year-round, lapping onto more than 50 miles of light and dark sand beaches.
At night, pregnant sea turtles lumber up sandy slopes to lay their clutches of eggs; during the daytime, they can be seen lingering in shallow waters, along with brightly colored tropical fish, majestic rays, and vast schools of game fish.
Of note is Isla Canas, thickly fringed with mangroves, which receives thousands of nesting turtles on its kilometers-long beaches at night.
Many of the beaches - in particular Playa Venao at the southernmost end of the peninsula in the Pedasi district - are beginning to gain notoriety in the surfing world for consistent breaks with a lot of elbow room.
A Taste of Caribbean Splendor: Isla Iguana If miles of pristine beaches and curling waves aren't enough to grip the imagination, then Los Santos has another trick up its sleeve: a postcard-perfect Caribbean island, set mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean.
Isla Iguana, an island nature reserve in sight of the peninsula's southern coast is Pedasi's sweetest calling card: blinding white sands, swaying palm trees, and a heartbreaking coral reef fanning out beneath crystal-clear waters.
Isla Iguana sits in full view of Andromeda Ocean Estates, and was a significant factor in choosing the site.
"This took our location from special to extraordinary," says Mr Rudasevski.
Day-trippers can visit Isla Iguana easily by hiring a local panga to make the 20-minute trip from the mainland, and spend the day snorkeling in warm, shallow waters thronging with colorful marine life, or languish on the islands two power-soft beaches, while watching storms of frigate birds circle endlessly overhead.
The island is a major nesting site for the frigata magnificens, and home to several species of iguanas and lizards.
Drop Me a Line: the Sport-Fisher's Boon The waters off Los Santos are a fisherman's bounty, offering plenty of big game fish - sailfish and marlin, for example - and many more tasty dinner catches, such as yellowfin tuna and red snapper.
The south end of the peninsula is so well-traveled by big schools of tuna migrating and spawning that it is known as the "Tuna Coast", bringing notoriety to Pedasi fishing.
"You hardly need to leave the shore to start hauling in big game," marvels Mr Rudasevski.
"There's no doubt this is a major attraction for our homeowners - you can catch a delicious meal in less than an hour, and be home to cook it minutes later.
" Birds to Bikes: the Wilder Side of Los Santos Though much of the original tropical forest cover was cleared to make way for cattle pastures, there remains plenty of wildlife to fascinate the dedicated animal lover.
In particular, Panama is the home to, and a stop for, nearly a thousand bird species, including some of the world's rarest.
Amateur ornithologists will find themselves well rewarded at the pond in Pocri, just north of Pedasi, where dozens of bird species alight to court, mate, raise young, or just rest their wings for a moment.
Scuba divers will find a plethora of marine life in the coastal waters, particularly around Isla Iguana and the Frailes Islands.
Several species of rays, including manta rays, sharks, trumpetfish, sea turtles, seahorses, octopus and a thousand variegated fish congregate in the balmy waters.
For those who prefer more activity, the smoothly-paved hilly roads are the perfect base for long-distance cycles, with plenty of opportunity for heading off-road.
For a more organic means of travel, horseback riding is possibly the preferred choice in Los Santos cowboy country - you're unlikely not to share the road with horses and riders rounding up a herd of cattle, or making their leisurely way home at the end of a long day in the field.
Three's a Crowd, Four's a Party: Los Santos Fiestas No mention of Los Santos would be complete without the colorful outbursts that punctuate every town, seemingly every weekend: the fiestas.
There are no end of reasons to celebrate in Los Santos, whether religious or commemorative, or simply a matter of long-held tradition.
The most riotous celebration of all is the five-day Carnival, and the town of Las Tablas is renowned for its frenzied merriment, with lavish parades presided by lovely girls in traditional hand-stitched gowns called polleras, dancing, fireworks, masks and traditional music.
Other noteworthy fiestas are the Corpus Christi, a religious festival in Ciudad la Villa de Los Santos, which blends Christian rites with dances celebration ancient pagan worship; La Mejorana in Guarare, a music festival that features the province's traditional instruments after which the festival is named; and Easter Week, or Semana Santa, which is celebrated throughout the province and is a major national holiday.
But most weekends will find some cause for festivity, and each small town will have its own distinct expression and tradition.
Those interested in even older traditions will take interest in Los Santos' pre-colonial history, with architectural digs in the northern end of the province revealing settlements dating back thousands of years.
A Place to Hang Your Panama Hat: Buying a Home in Los Santos All of these attractions have begun to lure real estate developers, celebrities, retirees and second-homeowners to Los Santos in search of the perfect piece of property to call their own.
Celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger and the Prince of Liechtenstein all have properties in the Pedasi district, and many more of the rich and famous are spending time in Los Santos.
"The amount of interest this area has generated is phenomenal, but somehow it remains that quiet, out-of-the-way secret spot you've just discovered.
It has not lost its innocence," says Mr Rudasevski.
"Andromeda Ocean Estates is intent on preserving that.
" Despite its potent charms, the Los Santos province remains true to its roots, quiet and authentic, the perfect place to hang your hat.
It is fairly bursting at the seams with cultural celebrations, natural attractions, beautiful beaches and adventure.
It is no surprise then, that it is now becoming the site of intense international interest, as celebrities and tourists flock to Panama's heartland.
Los Santos is a curious blend of real-world cowboy country, seaside magic, folkloric charm and thousands of years of history, all of it inhabited by incredible tropical biodiversity.
It's a place where quiet pastures stretch endlessly into the horizon, bordered by miles and miles of nearly deserted sandy coastline, and occasionally broken by the dramatically rounded hills that stand guard over the southern coast.
Today, a real estate frenzy is building in the quiet, rural province, in particular on the Azuero Peninsula, which takes up the lion's share of the Los Santos territory.
Surfers, travelers, international celebrities, sportfishers and real estate buyers are all making their way along the PanAmerican Highway to see what the fuss is all about.
"There's no doubt there is a magnetic pull to Los Santos, and we find that many of our clients are those who heard about it from someone else - it's not yet fully on the radar, but those that have been here immediately fall in love," says Daniel Rudasevski of Andromeda Ocean Estates, a luxurious beachfront gated community under way in Pedasi, Los Santos.
Los Santos: Sea, Sun, Sand and Surf If Panama's more well known attractions tend to eclipse that fact that it is indeed a lush, tropical country with as much coastline as inland, a visit to Los Santos serves as an excellent reminder.
An undeniably huge part of the Los Santos charm lies in the miles and miles of virtually deserted beaches that extend into the Azuero Peninsula.
"We are fortunate in having two beautiful pristine beaches framing our community," says Mr Rudasevski of Playa El Toro and La Garita, which spill before Andromeda Ocean Estates, "but in truth there is so much to choose from here - the peninsula is ringed with great beaches.
" The Pacific waters are warm year-round, lapping onto more than 50 miles of light and dark sand beaches.
At night, pregnant sea turtles lumber up sandy slopes to lay their clutches of eggs; during the daytime, they can be seen lingering in shallow waters, along with brightly colored tropical fish, majestic rays, and vast schools of game fish.
Of note is Isla Canas, thickly fringed with mangroves, which receives thousands of nesting turtles on its kilometers-long beaches at night.
Many of the beaches - in particular Playa Venao at the southernmost end of the peninsula in the Pedasi district - are beginning to gain notoriety in the surfing world for consistent breaks with a lot of elbow room.
A Taste of Caribbean Splendor: Isla Iguana If miles of pristine beaches and curling waves aren't enough to grip the imagination, then Los Santos has another trick up its sleeve: a postcard-perfect Caribbean island, set mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean.
Isla Iguana, an island nature reserve in sight of the peninsula's southern coast is Pedasi's sweetest calling card: blinding white sands, swaying palm trees, and a heartbreaking coral reef fanning out beneath crystal-clear waters.
Isla Iguana sits in full view of Andromeda Ocean Estates, and was a significant factor in choosing the site.
"This took our location from special to extraordinary," says Mr Rudasevski.
Day-trippers can visit Isla Iguana easily by hiring a local panga to make the 20-minute trip from the mainland, and spend the day snorkeling in warm, shallow waters thronging with colorful marine life, or languish on the islands two power-soft beaches, while watching storms of frigate birds circle endlessly overhead.
The island is a major nesting site for the frigata magnificens, and home to several species of iguanas and lizards.
Drop Me a Line: the Sport-Fisher's Boon The waters off Los Santos are a fisherman's bounty, offering plenty of big game fish - sailfish and marlin, for example - and many more tasty dinner catches, such as yellowfin tuna and red snapper.
The south end of the peninsula is so well-traveled by big schools of tuna migrating and spawning that it is known as the "Tuna Coast", bringing notoriety to Pedasi fishing.
"You hardly need to leave the shore to start hauling in big game," marvels Mr Rudasevski.
"There's no doubt this is a major attraction for our homeowners - you can catch a delicious meal in less than an hour, and be home to cook it minutes later.
" Birds to Bikes: the Wilder Side of Los Santos Though much of the original tropical forest cover was cleared to make way for cattle pastures, there remains plenty of wildlife to fascinate the dedicated animal lover.
In particular, Panama is the home to, and a stop for, nearly a thousand bird species, including some of the world's rarest.
Amateur ornithologists will find themselves well rewarded at the pond in Pocri, just north of Pedasi, where dozens of bird species alight to court, mate, raise young, or just rest their wings for a moment.
Scuba divers will find a plethora of marine life in the coastal waters, particularly around Isla Iguana and the Frailes Islands.
Several species of rays, including manta rays, sharks, trumpetfish, sea turtles, seahorses, octopus and a thousand variegated fish congregate in the balmy waters.
For those who prefer more activity, the smoothly-paved hilly roads are the perfect base for long-distance cycles, with plenty of opportunity for heading off-road.
For a more organic means of travel, horseback riding is possibly the preferred choice in Los Santos cowboy country - you're unlikely not to share the road with horses and riders rounding up a herd of cattle, or making their leisurely way home at the end of a long day in the field.
Three's a Crowd, Four's a Party: Los Santos Fiestas No mention of Los Santos would be complete without the colorful outbursts that punctuate every town, seemingly every weekend: the fiestas.
There are no end of reasons to celebrate in Los Santos, whether religious or commemorative, or simply a matter of long-held tradition.
The most riotous celebration of all is the five-day Carnival, and the town of Las Tablas is renowned for its frenzied merriment, with lavish parades presided by lovely girls in traditional hand-stitched gowns called polleras, dancing, fireworks, masks and traditional music.
Other noteworthy fiestas are the Corpus Christi, a religious festival in Ciudad la Villa de Los Santos, which blends Christian rites with dances celebration ancient pagan worship; La Mejorana in Guarare, a music festival that features the province's traditional instruments after which the festival is named; and Easter Week, or Semana Santa, which is celebrated throughout the province and is a major national holiday.
But most weekends will find some cause for festivity, and each small town will have its own distinct expression and tradition.
Those interested in even older traditions will take interest in Los Santos' pre-colonial history, with architectural digs in the northern end of the province revealing settlements dating back thousands of years.
A Place to Hang Your Panama Hat: Buying a Home in Los Santos All of these attractions have begun to lure real estate developers, celebrities, retirees and second-homeowners to Los Santos in search of the perfect piece of property to call their own.
Celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger and the Prince of Liechtenstein all have properties in the Pedasi district, and many more of the rich and famous are spending time in Los Santos.
"The amount of interest this area has generated is phenomenal, but somehow it remains that quiet, out-of-the-way secret spot you've just discovered.
It has not lost its innocence," says Mr Rudasevski.
"Andromeda Ocean Estates is intent on preserving that.
" Despite its potent charms, the Los Santos province remains true to its roots, quiet and authentic, the perfect place to hang your hat.
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