By Irene Edwards & Kelly Galaski

Our venture into indigenous culture began when our guide picked us up from our hotel in Panama City and it took about 30 minutes to get to the dock on the Chagres river in order to take a boat to the Embera village.

 

Men dressed in loincloths waited in canoes to take people across the river to the village.  The boat ride takes about 20 minutes – depending if you are in a motorized canoe called a “piragua,” or more traditional one. 

The women were waiting in the village, where there were people playing drums and other instruments. The area has several small villages, with about six families each.  There are small artisan shops to buy the colorful fabrics and jewelry made by the women. Their food comes from the surrounding river and forests and their own farms, such as fresh fish, plantains, and yucca (yummy!).  
Their houses are small thatched-roof open huts. The men were in charge of the music while the women performed a traditional dance.  The delicious lunch was fried tilapia and “Patacones” which are fried flattened plantains, all served on banana leaves.  Tourism here is managed by a community association that works with tour operators to bring visitors to the community to boost their income. Sometimes travelers stay with villagers for a night or two to really get the experience.   
The website for the community association, Embera Drua describes the history of how they began inviting people to their community, how they first received assistance from the Panama Tourism Board, the World Bank and local NGOs with training and to be connected with tour operators. Most of the adult members of the village are part of the association/NGO and they have elected a board of directors to work with the tour operators. They speak of the benefits tourism brings so that they can send their children to secondary school, pay for healthcare, and purchase cooking equipment and supplies. 

 

It has become pretty popular with lots of buses around at the docks. Some people argue that this type of tourism is exploitative, and others argue that it supports the communities. Depending on how the association manages the income and how the village residents feel, both sides could have some truth. We would like to pose the question to our readers.  Do you think that communities such as the Embera Drua are benefiting from having visitors to their villages and homes?

 

By Shirley Linde and Lloyd Webbe, SmallShipCruises.com 

We had been going up river about an hour with jungle on each side when we heard a single drum announcing our arrival. In minutes we were at a landing where a dozen or so villagers stood to greet us. Four musicians played drums, maracas and flute and sang. When we got on shore, sarong-clad children looked up at us with big eyes, wordlessly took us by the hand and one by one led us down a dirt path. We were visiting a village of Embera Indians, one of the highlights of a voyage in a yacht of Panama Marine Adventurers.

 

The yacht, named Discovery, has lived up to its name, having created a voyage of discovery for travelers who want to know the real Panama and its people. Panamanians are as colorful as the wildlife, their music as flavorful as their native foods, a blend of African, Caribbean and Spanish with dash of Chinese and European.

Discovery carries 24 passengers, Captain Rafael Munoz, 6 crew, and 2 naturalists. There are 8 queen and 4 twin cabins. The draft is shallow so the vessel can venture where few passenger vessels can, carrying clients in comfort into the shallow waters of Panama’s rivers and tributaries. There are two zodiacs, 8 kayaks, and snorkeling gear on board. The salon is the dining room and main gathering area.

Panama is just 9 degrees north of the equator, a thin strip of land that shapes the waist of the Americas.  The country offers access to many different cultures and worlds, all within reach of each other in just a few hours.  Mention Panama and most people think of the Panama Canal that draws ships and visitors from around the world. But there is more to see in Panama besides the Canal.

Continue reading this Panama Marine Aventure.