b>La Chunga, Darien Region, Panama
Today we arose before dawn, and loaded ourselves into motorized Cayucos for a journey into a place few ever visit. Indeed, few people visit this area because it is a challenging and difficult place to visit. We had an early morning wake-up call at 03:45am, and at 04:45 we began loading the Cayucos for a trip up the Rio Sambu. Why would anyone choose to arise so early? What could our destination be at such an early hour?
We were headed for La Chunga and a glimpse into the lives of the Embera Choco of the Darien Province. Long isolated, these delightful inhabitants of the Darien rain-forest have clung to many of their ancient traditions, despite being so close to the International Metropolis of Panama City, less than 200 miles away, and yet it seems centuries and a whole Universe away.
We spent almost two hours riding in the Cayucos, arriving at La Chunga with the dawn, and more importantly with the high tide. Yes, the village is only accessible to the outside World at high tide, hence our early cayuco ride, and perhaps the scarcity of other visitors.
Once we disembarked the Cayucos we were led hand-in-hand, by the children from the village, up the pathway to the “village square” where we were greeted by the local band of musicians. The flutes and drums provided a surreal atmosphere to our visit to some of the most friendly and innocent peoples you could ever meet. Many guests commenting that this “was the best thing they had ever done” on our return to the ship. Of course this return occurred in what seemed like hours later, but in fact it was only 10:30 am! A full day of adventure before lunch!!!!
Today we arose before dawn, and loaded ourselves into motorized Cayucos for a journey into a place few ever visit. Indeed, few people visit this area because it is a challenging and difficult place to visit. We had an early morning wake-up call at 03:45am, and at 04:45 we began loading the Cayucos for a trip up the Rio Sambu. Why would anyone choose to arise so early? What could our destination be at such an early hour?
We were headed for La Chunga and a glimpse into the lives of the Embera Choco of the Darien Province. Long isolated, these delightful inhabitants of the Darien rain-forest have clung to many of their ancient traditions, despite being so close to the International Metropolis of Panama City, less than 200 miles away, and yet it seems centuries and a whole Universe away.
We spent almost two hours riding in the Cayucos, arriving at La Chunga with the dawn, and more importantly with the high tide. Yes, the village is only accessible to the outside World at high tide, hence our early cayuco ride, and perhaps the scarcity of other visitors.
Once we disembarked the Cayucos we were led hand-in-hand, by the children from the village, up the pathway to the “village square” where we were greeted by the local band of musicians. The flutes and drums provided a surreal atmosphere to our visit to some of the most friendly and innocent peoples you could ever meet. Many guests commenting that this “was the best thing they had ever done” on our return to the ship. Of course this return occurred in what seemed like hours later, but in fact it was only 10:30 am! A full day of adventure before lunch!!!!
