KATHY'S VISIT

Two giant screams at the airport made every ones head turn towards us as Kathy and I leaped into a giant hug.  A quick shopping trip and a short hour and a half drive later another major scream and Sid was wrapped in Kathy’s arms and legs. 

We haven’t seen Kathy in about 4 years when she visited us in Venezuela and here she was again for a full week. She had barely arrived when we dragged her up to Binnie’s. Binnie had a full house with 4 of her friends visiting and we all had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful view over the bay with cocktails and appetizer’s then Abby cooked us a yummy dinner with fish her husband had caught in Lake Gatun. 

Early the next morning Kathy jumped on my bed and urged me to get up and go for a walk, the times of sleeping in until 7:30 were over for me! Every morning we went for an hour walk then she drilled me with Pilates, made us a healthy fruit smoothie which then was followed by my breakfasts of hearty omelets filled with vegetables. Sounds like a healthy life until the BM’s or Mimosa’s came out! No dull moment with Kathy.

I had told her that Jennifer was organizing a trip to the Embera Native Rainforest Village and that she needed to be here for that and so she was. The trip was incredible.

We all met Jennifer at the Chagras River near La Cabima. 

From there a long dugout canoe with a 30 horse power engine took us up the Chagras River. 

The water was amazingly clear and now and then a small rapid needed to be passed while the native on the bow would push us up with a long poll. 

We followed the river snaking its way through the jungle and headed up a narrow river that joins the Chagras River. After the canoes were banked we took a short hike up the river to a waterfall where we jumped into the icy water and sat on rocks under the fall getting pelted with water. Along the hike we saw a pretty good size yucky spider (the size of Sid’s hand). 

After all were cooled off the river trip continued another 30 minutes up the Chagras to the banks where the Embera Drua village is home. Along the river bank the leader of the village among children awaited us playing native instruments: bamboo flutes, maraccas, drums, one made out of a turtle shell. 

The village lies on top of a 75 foot hill and the females were all assembled along the path greeting and shaking our hands. We were all led into the main building which they use for ceremonies and gatherings, there the leader greeted us and taught us about his people. 

Originally Embera Indians are from the remote rainforest tribes of the Darien jungle. Many families migrated to the Chagres River which is situated an hour and half from Panama City. The Chagres River is the main water source of the Panama Canal and therefore was turned into a National Park in 1984. With that the Indians were forbidden to hunt and work in the mountains of this area and are now entertainment for worldwide tourists. I had asked one Embera how this has affected them; he was frank about it and said they all are happy that the hard and dangerous life in the mountains was over, besides he said with a grin that the money they make is pretty good.

The name “Embera” means “people”. They live in small villages of about 5 to 20 houses along river banks. The houses are raised off the ground about eight feet, with no walls and topped with tall thatched roofs made of palm fronds. Like Kuna Indians, Embera’s also sleep in hammocks. Hanging from the supporting posts and beams are hammocks, baskets, pots, bows and arrows. 

 

In the Darien area around the villages the jungle is partly cleared and replaced by banana plantations, Embera then sell to get cash for their outboard motors, mosquito nets and the likes. Embera people are matrilineal descent, practice polygamy and live in family units. Each village chooses a male and female leader which are not married to each other. The current leaders are very well liked and it is said that they will be elected again.

Female Leader with crown

 Each village has a Shaman, which in today’s modern time only the elder still seek the Shaman, the younger Indians now use modern doctors in Panama. 

The men still wear nothing but a minimal loin cloth and some wear a belt like skirt used to be made out of seeds, now they use colorful beads. The women wear brightly colored cloth wrapped at the waist as a skirt and used to be topless now they cover up with a bib type wrap made out of colorful beads and silver coins which used to be ancient coins passed down from mother to daughter and wear matching silver earrings. All women wear long, straight black beautiful hair. The kids usually are naked until puberty but in this village are dressed like the adults. No one wears shoes.  

They paint their bodies with a dye made from tree berries. The black dye is said to repel insects. They print intricate geometric patterns all over their bodies, using wood blocks carved from balsa wood. They offered us tattoos and when I was told they wash right off I had one done around my wrist. Jen had chosen one like the Embera women wear on their faces. (After a refreshing swim in the water the tattoo already had almost disappeared I was almost disappointed, but the next morning it was right back if not darker and lasted for over a week, we saw Jen 10 days later and she still had her tattoo on her face). 

The leader also introduced us to the Embera Handicraft:

La Chunga (Baskets), which are made out of the chunga palm or “jiwa” in Embera dialect. This palm grows very tall and has lot of spines. The trunks are used as posts in their traditional houses. Embera woman learned from their ancestors how to weave baskets from the fibers of the leaves.

How do they get the fibers? First the heart of the chunga plant is cut and gathered, brought back to the village by the ladies which then are put it in water so that it doesn’t dry out in the sun. One leaf has four fibers. The chunga then is cooked to get rid of the natural green color. After cooking the leaves are dried in the sun. All dies are found in trees, seeds dirt and the fibers are cooked with the dyes. After having all the fibers the ladies start to weave. One basket can take anywhere from 3 to 60 days dedicating 6 to 8 hours daily. They usually charge one dollar per day for the basket. 

Tagua (Vegetable Ivory) comes from a palm that grows about 8 feet tall and is found in the canal area of Panama.  The Tagua consists of 3 parts, the shell, which is the outside covering of the ivory which can have anywhere from 6 to 12 fruits. When the ivory is new, the part inside is edible. In the first growing stage it has water, and it is drinkable. The second growing stage is similar to that of coconut. After it hardens they can be carved. The natural color of the ivory is white, but it can be painted. The carving all are amazing.

La Chaquira (Beadwork) Traditionally the beads used were made from rocks, seeds and animal teeth. They still keep the tradition but use plastic bead they buy in Panama City. The designs made by Embera women are inspired by nature. They also make geometric and traditional designs, learned by their ancestors. Various items that are made include: Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, traditional breastplates, adorned with silver and money and the belts for the men.

The Embera people prefer strong, vibrant colors. 

After the introduction of life in an Embera Village the women served us a traditional Embera meal which was fried fish with patacones (fried plantains) sprinkles with some lime. 

Then we were invited to see and buy their crafts. There was so much to choose from but we all found something or more.

The village entertained us with their music and dance which was fun but we had the feeling that they put this together just for tourism. 

Leader

Sid talking to Mom

The river called us for a refreshing swim and it was fun riding the fast current down the stream, wow amazing how powerful water can be. Then the boats ended this incredible experience with a fast ride down the river current. 

It was an unforgettable adventure and we celebrated it with hamburgers at Captain Jacks

. 

The fun didn’t stop here, the very next day we took the dinghy out and putted out to Mame one of the islands off Puerto Lindo. 

A beautiful sandy beach awaited us, behind a grassy flat area that reached to a dense tree covered hill. We sat in the shade under a palm tree and took in the beautiful scenery. A guy at the next tree over was getting the BBQ ready and in the process of seasoning all kind of meats. Just as a joke I asked when lunch was ready, he responded in 10 minutes. Sure enough 10 minutes later he came over with three juice steaks on a plate for us, wow we did not expect that, later he came back with some sausage and again later with some juicy try tip sorloin wow.  We’ve never had a better piece of steak here in Panama. Of course we started to talk to him and found out that he is a waiter in an Argentinean Restaurant in Panama City, therefore ordered the meat through the restaurant. The funny thing was, he was sitting against the palm tree and a wrong move brought out an accidental loud fart, we all had a good laugh about it, especially his family could not stop laughing. We exchanged phone numbers with the agreement that when we’re in town we’ll eat at his restaurant and when he comes back he’ll let us know and we’ll meet him again on the island for a great BBQ, I can’t wait. 

The next day we toured Portobelo and hired a boat to take us across to the incredible fort. Dave on Green Flash joined us. It was a hot hike up to the top fort and on our way down the reward was some snacks with Bloody Mary and an incredible view. All was good until some ants bit my legs, man they hurt.

Slave Cemetery

Dave and his boat Green Flash

Evenings we spent having dinner at Binnie’s followed with games, Mississippi Marbles, Phase 10 or Shit Head. We had such fun our faces hurt. The most fun though was when Kathy was score keeper and blurted out: “The score cheater always wins!” Oops, too late she realized what she had said and she gained a new nickname “Kingski the score cheater”; huge fun. 

On her last day we drove to an Adventure Center for river tubing which is up a river and over canyons near Maria Chiquita. They also have zip lines to glide through the treetops, but we decided to save that for when we go visit Kathy in Costa Rica. Unfortunately rainy season being over, the river was not flowing much and we didn’t think we should pay 20 bucks per person to just float in the same spot but we did have a wonderful pick-nick and enjoyed the tranquil surrounding. 

We did so much in the 7 days Kathy was here and as usual when you have fun the time zips just by and before we knew it we were driving her back to the airport recounting all the fun we had. It was great to have her here and we are looking forward to seeing her soon again whether here or in Costa Rica. 

One day later Cindy called me and asked me if I was interested in lobster. Am I interested in lobster you bet and so she sent the lobster guy by our house. He had a shopping bag half full of lobster for 18 bucks, so I took them all and told him to come by any time with more lobster.

The very next day Binnie’s banker and family arrived to spend the weekend. Not just did they bring 14 family members but also a 100 pound marinated pig and a special pig roast grill. It was an incredible feast, the booze was flowing, then the harmonicas and guitar came out and Jim and I played a few rounds, followed by some dancing. It was a fun night and I think everybody is going to need a BM this morning.

Beautiful Sunset Reflection

Sid and Reed

Binnie, Mildred and Heather

Binnie

The group was here for 3 days and cooked for us every night, time for a major diet again LOL.

PS: By the way I posted the last newsletter when Gaby was here. At the end you will find all the photo stories again. http://turtle-express39.blogspot.com/