A Trip to Panama and Costa Rica
The Embera of the Darien Jungle
One the second day we visited the Embera, a native people of the Darien Jungle in Panama. It was our first introduction to "the jungle" and indeed it looked like something out of the movie The African Queen.
We travelled in the modern equivalent of dugout canoes. When we arrived at the dock there was a short hike to the village. In true jungle fashion, it was rainiing, but no one seemed to mind.
The village children came to escort us. Other than modern clothing, the Embera still live much as they always have, with raised houses to evade water and animals.
The women and children dressed in their traditional garb and performed dances for us.
Our visit made this a "market day" where the Embera women could sell handmade baskets and carvings. Each child made sure we visited his or her mother's booth.
There was also an opportunity to get "tattoos" of traditional geometric designs, which were said to wear off in about 10 days.
The children walked us back to the dock and posed for a picture by Carla, one of the ship's naturalists. The men of the community provided us with music.