Visiting a tribe lost in time

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Booking of a uncommon tour

I had see a small paragraph on a backpacker website about an indigenous Wounaan community, close to Panama City, that encourages tours within their village. Our friends were actually staying at that particular backpacker hostel and so we made enquiries about the tour and were able to organise our time in the village for today. Apparently, no one from the hostel had been out to the community in a while and so the receptionist wasn't really sure on what was involved. She confirmed our tour with a member of the community and let us know that we had to catch a bus from the Albrook bus terminal in Panama City out to a town called Gamboa and we would be met there for the tour.

Transportation difficulties

It all sounded easy enough and so we organised with our friends to meet at the hostel sufficiently early to share taxis to the bus terminal to reach the bus by 8am. We did well and were at the bus stop on time, but we didn't factor in that if a bus is full, it will leave early! This was only the beginning of our troubles getting to the village. The next bus wasn't to leave for another 2 hours, so we organised a couple of cabs to take us out to Gamboa for a decent price. Once we got to Gamboa, which was a 45 min drive away, we found a bus stop in town that sounded like it would be "the" Gamboa bus stop (considering it was the only one in town), but our taxi driver didn't want to leave us there as he didn't think we knew what we were doing. We exited the taxi at the police station, which was only a minute walk further up the street. Our driver felt better about leaving us there. At the time we were not sure if it was a good sign to have the taxi driver worried, but it looked safe enough and it was daytime.

The taxi with the rest of our friends arrived and our English mate, Tom, told us that they had called the community to let them know that we missed the bus, and to confirm when we would arrive. So we moved down the road to stand near the bus stop. We assumed that a tour vehicle would pick us up to take us out to the village at San Antonio, but when it didn't arrive the guys wandered over to get some local firemen to call and talk in Spanish with the village contact. Apparently, we were to meet at the Gamboa Resort and had to make our way there and no vehicle was coming to pick us up.

After wandering through the town streets, asking at least 3 different people directions who all responded with an arm out saying it was in "that direction", we came across a security guard at a private road, who told us that the resort was just up the hill and we could talk to the reception there about how we are to make contact with our tour. I was quite ill by this stage with strong belly cramps inhibiting my walking progress. For some reason on the way out to Gamboa, I started feel bad. Walking up a hill was my last effort to reach this place!

Another world of luxury

Entering the lobby of the resort building was like walking into a fancy, western world separate to what we had become accustomed to with our cheap lodging and rough living. I bought some pain killers and a snickers bar, to make me feel better and stop my hunger, at hugely inflated prices, whilst the others talked to reception about how were were to meet our tour there. Not more problems! I started to feel better and we were driven in a safari type truck down to Lake Gatún, where we were met by 2 mostly naked males in a motorised boat, ready to take us out to the village. We were not disappointed for the rest of the day and were glad that we made the effort that we did to get out there.

A community lost in time

Our guides wore little blue loincloths, with the older male wearing beaded necklaces, cascading down his chest. We were prompted to all sit in the boat, so that they could take us out to their home in the Soberanía National Park on the shore of the lake. Our guides spoke Spanish and we were relieved that we could understand most of what they said, as they spoke very clearly and slow enough for us to keep up.

On the way to the village we spotted many interesting birds walking on top of the water plants and laughed at our British friend's fear of crocodiles. Some huts with palm thatched roofs, built on wooden stilts, appeared out of the forest, inviting us to enter via the wooden dock that we pulled up against. We were offered to feel comfortable to walk around the village, which consisted of around 7 or 8 huts, and that it was ok for us to take photos. It is quite an offence to take photos of many indegenous people and so I felt a lot better that I could take heaps of shots. Before we even reached the main hut, our guide showed me a couple of plants that are useful to the locals, including a plant that has small roots that they use for dyes. The tribe still retains some of its knowledge of medicinal and other uses of the plants in the rainforest, but the knowledge is being lost as most of it is not written down in books.

Once we all arrived at the main hut we saw that many handicrafts made by the villagers were nicely displayed on the tables waiting for our inspection, with the family that lived in the community all standing around the tables waiting for our arrival. Many women and girls wore skirts with no tops, whilst some of the girls wore beaded tops in a tropical, thin-strap style. The rest of the men also wore loincloths.

Handicrafts

A beautiful blue frog sculpted out of tagua or ivory nut (the seed of a palm that grows in the tropical rainforest) caught my eye, along with another nut carved out to be a howler monkey. Dan and I had already brough a few pieces made out of this nut, the day before in Casco Viejo, but we liked the ones we saw so much that we bought them at a great price. Other works on display included animal sculptures made out of the rich red-brown wood of the cocobolo tree, beaded bracelets and necklaces and beautiful woven plates. It has been said that the Wounaans were the original basket weavers and wood carvers in the region.

Houses on stilts

We were told that traditionally the houses were built on stilts for safety for the children against the large cats that traditionally lived in the areas of the Wounaan. Logs, with stairs carved into it, provide the access to the home, which is half open to permit the breeze to enter. Years ago the Wounaan had to relocate from the Darien and don't have as many issues with the big cats any more in their new land. As they now live in a national park, they are not allowed to use the animals and plants completely in the way that they previously could, as these aspects of the park are protected. It is one of the reasons why they have to use different types of beads to make their jewellery, as they aren't allowed to use the plant from which they would normally collect their decorations from. The people are still allowed to fish and so fish is an important part of their diet today.

Jungle time

After inspecting the handicrafts, we were were offered mosquito lotion, as it was very important for the next part of our tour. None of us had thought to put any on beforehand, as we didn't really know that we were to be walking through the jungle. We were guided out past a cocoa plant, which they make hot chocolate from for breakfast, and beyond the village soccor field to a small path marking the entrance of the 20 minute trail that they had made through the rainforest. As soon as we entered the path the mozzies became very apparent. They were huge and even our native hosts were doing the slappy dance, whilst they spoke to us about the different trees and plants that they use and about the animals that lived there.

Smart ants

We saw entrances to a nest of thousands of leaf-cutting ants along with a rubbish heap of wasted materials that the ants also dump in a big pile close to an exit point. I wandered why my feet were getting so bitten, until I realised that I was standing on a small entrace to the nest further along the path! For those who don't know much about the leaf cutting ants, they are easy to recognise by the long line of ants carrying little pieces of leaf that they have cut to take back to their underground nest, so that they can grow fungi to eat. You can see minature ants sitting on top of the leaf that is being carried. These ants aren't taking a break, but instead act as soldier ants protecting the leaf from other insects, like moths, that lay their eggs on the leaf. Once the leaf is inside the ant nest, the eggs hatch at a later stage, with a great supply of food in the nest to eat.

Traditional dancing

Upon our return to the main hut, the women and girls had gathered to show us a few different traditional dances. The first one was the agouti dance. We saw an agouti, a large guinea pig like animal, in Costa Rica and so knew what animal they were dancing about. After about 3 dances, they invited us to participate with them in the dance that they perform when they have a large gathering of people. Connie and I were the only game ones and so we wrapped our arms around the girls and moved back and forth with them unable to chant the words that the girls were singing and laughing at. My thongs kept getting stuck in the mud, so I flicked them off and danced in the mud bare-foot like everyone else.

Wounaan village and history

After the dances, our guide told us about the village and how the people had migrated from the Darien to their new location looking for a better life in the region. We learnt many interesting facts about the family that moved there, but I won't misquote the information here, just in case my Spanish interpretation isn't fully correct. I was able to follow most of the story, but not all in its entirety.

Delicious tucker

We were supplied with a traditional meal, that takes a long time to prepare and is usually served at important functions. We were each given a large leaf each containing fried fish with pieces of fried battered plantain. The food was very tasty and was greedily consumed by everyone in our small group of friends. The plantain was actually different to any that I had tried previously, as it was of a thicker consistency and less sweet than the others that I have eaten during our travels.

Temporary tattoo

We were offered markings on our arms with the use of the natural dyes, that they create from the local black palm. A girl used a thin stick to create a large bracelet-like pattern around my wrist with the dye that would remain on my arm for the next 10 days. We were told that the women on their wedding day would cover their whole body, except for their face, with the ink. Another interesting fact that I had learnt earlier in the day was that in the past the Wounaan men could have more than one wife, but in the current age, they only have one to share more of their love with. That's nice to hear!

Back to reality

We had been with the villagers for about 2 hours and it was our time to leave, so that we could catch the next bus back to Panama City. We thanked and farewelled the locals, before we hopped into the boat to be taken back to the modern world. Along the way we saw a 2-toed sloth in a tree and some birds high up in the trees along the banks of the water. Most of us were too slow to see a fish that was pointed out to us as the fish that we ate at lunch. Our trip back to the city was a lot smoother than our journey out, as we made it to the bus stop on time (after the resort generously shuttled us out to the main road bus station) and endured a very bumping 45 minute chicken bus ride back to the Albrook bus terminal.

More info on the Wounaan tribe

The Wounaan are one of seven indigenous peoples in Panama. For centuries, the Wounaan lived as semi-nomadic forest dwellers that hunted and fished. They still live a traditional lifestyle in the Panamanian rainforest, but send their children to a national school. For more information about the tribe, you can have a look at their website - http://www.geocities.com/sanantoniowounaan

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Photos

Handicrafts
There were carved from the tagua nut.