The Aguadulce District

The Aguadulce district is one of the many that makes up the province of Coclé. Literally translated to “Sweet Water,” Aguadulce gets its name from back when the land was first colonized; settlers, upon digging wells for drinking water, noticed how sweet the water was even though the area was in near proximity to the sea… of course, this is all hearsay and there’s no real way of verifying this story. Ironically, Aguadulce is a big producer of both salt and sugar.

The Antón District

The region is mostly composed of mountain terrain on the north side and sabana on the south side; amongst its most important landmarks we have Cerro Gaital (1,108m above sea level) and the Antón Valley, a popular weekend getaway for locals and foreigners alike.  It’s also important to know that Farallón beach, home of both the Royal Decameron and Playa Blanca all-inclusive resorts, is part of Antón as well.

The La Pintada District

The La Pintada district is made up of 6 towns: La Pintada, El Harino, El Potrero, Llano Grande Piedras Gordas and Las Lomas. The district gets its name from the neighboring towns that would go to La Pintada, at the time called La Inmaculada, in order to stock up on food and supplies. The particular trait of this old-school convenience store was that it was the only house in town that was painted, hence the name.

Nata District

Natá gets its name in honor of a Cacique that went by the name of Anatá who governed the area where the De Los Caballeros hacienda was built in. The “De Los Caballeros” comes from the arrival of 100 Spaniard noblemen sent to Panama by king Carlos V of Spain. Ever since then Anatá was known as “Natá, of the Noblemen.”

Ola District

Ola is composed of 5 towns: Olá, El Copé, El Palmar, El Picacho, and La Pava. Out of all the towns mentioned above, El Palmar is probably the most well-known due to its beach, one that is popular amongst the surfing community. Great waves and overall excellent weather are staples of Olá and the towns that compose it.

Filed under: Coclé on June 3rd, 2008