This Catuaí lot is the sibling of lovely natural Geisha from the Lerida Estate, which has an impressive history and rich heritage. Sometime around 1920, the land was sold by a local farmer to a man named Tollef Bache Monniche. Monniche, a Norwegian, found himself in Panama after immigrating to the United States and accepting work as a lead engineer on the Panama Canal Project. Upon his retirement, he sought a quiet existence, so he and his wife, Julia Huger, moved to the farm in Los Naranjos, a neighborhood just north of the town of Boquete in Chiriquí, Panama. 

Once settled, the couple began cultivating fruits and vegetables and eventually developing much of the farm into a coffee plantation. Their first major harvest in 1929 yielded an impressive quality that sold to Germany and sparked a global interest in the region’s coffee. Monniche’s engineering background led to the development of a siphoning device used in processing to separate low density coffee; the invention became popular in the region and replicas can still be found in use today. Among his other impressive hobbies, Monniche’s penchant as a naturalist led to cataloging the snakes and birds of the region, and his collection of wildfowl was acquired by Chicago’s Museum of Natural History. 

In 1956, the aging couple returned to the United States and sold the 365 hectare estate to Alfredo and Inga Collins. The Collins family remains owners of the land to this day, preserving the land (including a significant portion that remains native forest), cultivating the farm, and welcoming guests to their charming, vintage hotel. The land itself exists on the border of La Amistad International Park and in the shadow of Volcán Barú, an active volcano and the highest peak in the country.