Panama and The Canal Day 6
Panama and The Canal
Day 06 - Friday, December 17, 2010 - Visit Embera Indian Village-Time at Leisure
Winston had traded our big bus for a small 25 passenger mini bus for our adventures in Gamboa today. The sun was out and it was 82º with a nice breeze.
Each time we got in the bus, our tradition has been to do a head count in Spanish. Even though our group is well traveled and very bright, it has taken us 6 days to get this right. It is becoming quite a joke for people not remembering their numbers!
We drove along the canal and then on the Colon Highway. The dense jungle was beautiful with hundreds of shades of green.
This road is a major highway from the duty free zone with many huge trucks, container vehicles, buses, produce trucks and private cars. On our way Gustavo told us about the Embera people who fled the war zones of Colombia and settled in this part of Panama in the early 1950’s.
Gustavo made a brief stop in the small town of La Cabima to buy fruit for our lunch today. We were able to walk around the town and greet the locals. Everywhere we have gone the Panamanians have been so friendly and helpful.
Continuing on we were stopped by a group of teachers and children who were standing out by their school asking for money for an end of the year party. Everyone gave them a few dollars and we got out to talk with them. The children sang a song for us and we were on our way.
Reaching the river at 10:30 we were greeted by several men from the Embera village. Everyone boarded two motorized dugout canoes to travel up the Chagres River.
The river has been flooding as the Panama Canal Authority has been releasing water from the lakes above because of the torrential rains. The debris in the river made navigating treacherous.
A band of musicians welcomed us to their village and we had an opportunity to look at their colorful handicrafts.
A 32 year old representative from the tribe, Melio, gave us an explanation of the founding of the tribe on the Upper Chagres. About 75 people now live in this self- governed community.
A woman named Charra talked to us about the art of weaving from palm fibers and using natural dyes found in the rain forest. We had a few minutes to walk through the village and get a better understanding of the life style of this group of people.
Fried fish and plantains was served in a folded banana leaf for our lunch. We also had the fresh fruit we had purchased this morning.
After lunch there were several dances and a chance to enjoy the music of flutes, drums, and turtle shells.
We returned to our hotel at 3:30 in time to go on one of the optional tours. Gina and Miguel were our guides for the Aerial Tram trip. A bus picked us up at the hotel and took us to the Tram dock just a few minutes away.
There were seven of us from the OAT group joined by a woman and her teenage boys. We rode to the top of the hill on the gondola like tram and then walked through the rainforest to an observation tower.
The climb to the top was easy, and once there we had a panoramic view of the Chagras River flowing into the Panama Canal. Dredging is a constant operation at the mouth of the river as silt from the flooding river has to be cleared for passage of the big ships.
We saw several creatures of the rain forest; two opossums, a Chestnut Toucan, many iguanas, and several tropical birds.
The bus brought us back to the hotel at 5:45 and we had a few minutes to get ready for our dinner at the hotel. It was Charlotte Norman’s birthday and we had a small celebration in her honor.
Tomorrow afternoon we will board the Discovery, our boat and home for the next three days as we make our passage through the Panama Canal. We will not have internet access on the boat. We will post the journals as soon as we can after we return to Panama City.
Accommodations: Gamboa Resort Hotel - - - Meal: B, L, D
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Comments
Post a Comment!Hi Pat. Chica is laying beside me sleeping like a little log. Athena is on the other side. I'm sure enjoying your baby! What a personality--gets that from her Mom!! Have FUN!!!
Embera Indian Tribal Life (2:47)
Diablo Rojo - Red Devil Bus
End of Year School Party
Embare Motorize Dugout Canoe
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Chagres River and Panama Canal
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