Advertisement
Published: March 10th 2006
Edit Blog Post
We are going that way
young man in traditional dress. From time to time they had to get out and push us upstream. For some reason, the boat I was in got stuck more often than the others... Today was a true National Geographic day for us. We woke up early and was met by members of the Panama Sur Club. There were also members of a club in Ohio. The Ohio club had helped fund some motors for the dug-out canoes that the Embera Drua village uses to transport people to their village. The village was re-populated by the government in order to show the traditional way that the Embera live. The Emera are one of the seven indigenous people of Panama. It is a very popular village because you can see how people can live in harmony with the rainforest. It was neat seeing something like this so close to Panama City.
We drove until came to the Chagres river. The river is one of the main sources of fresh water for Panama. It directly feeds into the canal and is the source of fresh water for many people of Panama. We were greeted by young men of the village in their traditional dress. We loaded up the canoes and headed up the river.
We traveled for some time until we came to a small tributary of the river. We traveled further up the tributary
Along the bank
The jungle was amazing with many birds. until we stopped along the bank. We then walked several kilometers along a trail until we came to a large pool of water under a waterfall! After a long walk the water was very refreshing. Many of us did not realize that we would be able to go swimming so had to make do.... Don´t worry, the picutures have been edited for your health. After a long time in the water we returned to the Chagres and eventually came to the Drua village. We were greeted by children swimming in the river and a group of men playing traditional instruments. We walked up the steep hill to the village were we were greeted by more Embera. They did have an area displaying their crafts and many of us purchased very nice baskets and carved wood.
As we walked around the village they began cooking lunch for us. Lunch consisted of a fried fish and patacones. Patacones is a fried plaintain cut and pressed and then deep fried. It was very, very tasty. They were served in a large pocket made out of a leaf. The brother of the Chief then explained to us about their traditions and a way
of life.
Several of us walked on up the hill in order to review the water needs of the village. Currently, the water is supplied by a spring located several kmeters up a higher hill. The water is collected in a basin and brought by PVC all the way to the village. There is a problem with pressure we think due to the layout of the pipe. The water then feeds directly to water taps located within the village. There are no chlorination and many times the children of the village do get sick. The Panama Sur club is proposing purchasing a tank to provide water throughout the dry season and also to provide additional pressure. I asked for them to consider the cost of a chlorination system and they will also provide those costs in their estimate. We estimate the total project cost to be around $3,000.
When we returned back to the village we found out that the Ohio Rotarians and brought a surprise with them! They had brought out ice and an ice cream maker! Most of the Embera had never tasted ice cream. You would not believe the look in the childrens eyes as
Taking in the waterfall
Don´t worry. He had shorts on thank goodness. they listened to them explain what ice cream was. They were really excited!
As the ice cream was being made, we were treated to traditional music and dances of the Embera. The music had a great beat and the dances were awesome to watch. There is a lot of energy and fun to watch. At one point Lois and I were also dragged into the dancing. I had a good time. I am not too sure but I think Lois and the Chief are married now. After the dance, I had the opportunity to go to the river and swim. The current was really strong and the water was very cool.
When I returned the ice cream was done. The children were very patient and behaved. But it looked like they were about to burst. It was neat watching them behave. They had formed into several groups. Young girls, the little children, older boys, etc... They could have been any group of kids back in the US. Needless to say the ice cream was a very big hit. There wasn´t a clean face in the crowd.
Several of us went back to swim with the children and
we dove from a rock. Or at least I floundered around in the current and somehow kept from drowning. Some of the Panama Sur club and Ohio Rotarians spent the night and I hear that had a wonderful time. As we were leaving I had an opportunity to go down the river before the canoes came down. It was wonderful just floating along and hearing the noises of the jungle. Next time I hope to spend the night.
That evening we had an opportunity to go to dinner with Franklin and Lucita Oduber. It was a wonderful dinner with two of the best ambassadors of Panama. We had a wonderful fellowship and all shared in a large platter of paella. It is a rice dish and in this case was mixed with basically everything you can think of from the sea. Also in the resturant was the former President and the current Finance Minister of Panama. Since of course Frankin knows everyone in Panama he introduced us. As it turns out the Finance Minister has a daughter at KU. You just can not seem to get away from those Jaybirds.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.08s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0323s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb