It was a very early morning as we had to get the bus at 7am to join the Arc day long tour to visit an Indian village up near the source of the Chagres River. Poor Rowan could not join us as the Yanmar engines were being serviced on Pole Pole and loads of other jobs. It was good we were off the boat and out of the way, I was very pleased to have some family to celebrate with.
We had about an hour’s journey from Colon steadily climbing up and passing through the first proper farm land and then into the Teak forests, where there was a big logging industry going on. We finally got to a tiny village and there were a load of long dugout canoes with engines waiting on the Chagres river to take us to the Embera village, an indigenous Indian tribe. The boats were driven by the Embera men, who had ram rod postures, were very short and had amazing body paint. This part of the river is on the other side of Gatun Lake to where the river flows out to sea, the bit we took PolePole up. It was about an hours trip in the canoes, opening up into a flooded area, this is the second reservoir for the Panama Canal. We finally got to the village and were greeted by very colourfully dressed ladies with beautiful hibiscus head bands, all topless and painted bodies.
Clemente was our guide for the day, he lives in panama City and was very good at explaining and interpreting the Chief’s address to us. This tribe used to live in the Darien, on the Colombian border, when it became a lawless area with the drug running Colombians, it became so unsafe they moved to this part of the jungle on the Chagres. About 15 years ago the area became a National Park and their life style became restricted as they were no longer allowed to chop any trees, hunt animals etc. They were persuaded to make a living out of tourism and now host guests. Their Congressa hall was filled with handcrafts that they had made and were selling. Charmingly relaxed with chickens and kids screaming through the place. I was very happy to support them. There is no electricity here, it really is living off the land. They served us a lunch of fried Tilapia and squashed plantain, in clever banana leaf bowls, no plastic or paper, all compostable. Our tour operator organised our drinks. We did a walk around the village and at the end they did some dancing for us, with everyone involved including us!
Apologies for the huge amount of photos!
The Teak plantations
The Embera men taking us in the canoes
Widge, Myself and Edmund
We are off up the Chagres
The flooded area, the second reservoir, surrounded with lush forest
Such elegant long boats, just imagine how big the trees are that they are made from
Greeted by the ladies
Our driver
Greeted by the ladies, one lady had a particularly fine Hibiscus headdress….. and body paint!
Edmund with the ladies
The band welcoming us
Inside the Congressa hall
Handicrafts included lots of grass woven items, wood carvings, beadwork and silver jewellery
The raised kithchen and Congressa Hall behind
Cooking upstairs on a fire in a sandpit, burning enormous logs
The tilapia (fish) about to be cooked and our big fruit platter
Steps upstairs
Our lunch served in little leaf bowls
The chief explained how they do all their weaving with grass they colour with natural dyes, this red berry is used to colour the grass on the left
Intricate wood carvings, looks like a crab from the farm in South Africa
Gorgeous kids
Very funny looking bare necked chickens
Everything is so colourful
The chief who addressed us. They are semi autonomous like the Guna Yala in the San Blas islands. Nobody is forced to live in the village but if you do, then you obey the Chief and the Congressa
Their homes
Village walk
The guy who took us on a walk around the village showing us a lot of medicinal plants including their Viagra plant!
The villagers
The Arc crew included
Heading back
A rocky outcrop in the flooded area
Meanwhile Rowan was dealings with all these things going on back on PolePole
We got back to the marina after 4pm, PolePole was smelling delicious as Rowan had got the slow cooker going for my birthday supper. Rowan had organised a surprise visit from WitWat who had just arrived into the Marina today. By the time I had managed to speak to each of the kids it was getting close to 8pm and I had the biggest pile of presents still to open, I cant remember when I last had so many birthday presents. Such a treat, with so many lovely things including a couple of gorgeous items from the gallery in Portobello. It was a very special day.
Back on board talking to the kids and enjoying my birthday supper
My gorgeous bits from the Portobello Gallery
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