Panama Day 3

This day was my most favorite day in Panama. My sister, my brother-in-law and myself went on a tour to the Embera Indian Village. We drove about an hour and a half from our resort to the place were we were met by the Indians. We started by taking a motor powered dugout wooden canoe ride through the rain forest. The ride was so much fun, and I actually started crying just looking at the beauty of the lake and the natural untouched forest. Luckily there was water splashing on my face so no one could tell. We came to a waterfall but had to rock climb a short distance to get into the water near the falls. It was really beautiful, but COLD. My brother in-law and I jumped in and my sister took pictures. Sorry, but I am not showing myself in a bathing suit in the falls. Maybe in a few months if I get back in shape. No, I still won't do that. Anyway, after 30 minutes at the waterfall, our Indian friends took us on another 10 minute ride to their village. This was so cool. We were greeted to the sounds of their music and colorful culture from the moment our feet hit the dirt. The women were beautiful and the children ran around us laughing and playing. Some of the women wore beaded tops, but some did not wear anything but a bright colored skirt. They treated us to fish and chips(fried tilapia and fried plantains). It was delicious, but we had lots of bones to watch for. We ate out of handmade plates made of leafs from their trees. It was like a cone shaped bowl. We could watch the women cooking the food as they held their babies on their hips. Reminded me of how I cooked when my kids were little. Even the young girls were helping with the cooking and painting tribal tattoos on us if we wanted to pay a dollar. They said the tattoo would last for 8 days, so I opted out, but my brother in law went for it. A translator shared all kinds of info with us about their history and culture, and then we watched them dance and play music. We were invited to join in and dance, which all of us did. Lastly, we were able to purchase some of their wares, which ranged from beautiful beaded work, to hand carved pieces, and basket weaved treasures. I got a bracelet for Annie(we missed her b-day while we were gone), and a pretty woven plate for display in my entertainment center. My brother -in-law passed out dollars to every village child and their were a lot of them. They were so happy and carefree, but this was also a tourist village. There are other Embera villages that do not open themselves up to the rest of civilization futher away in the rain forest. It was an experience I will never forget. I wish Skip could have been there with me, but he stayed at the resort that day. It would have been very difficult for him to do the climbing and movement required for this trip. He loved hearing all about it and seeing the pics and videos I took.

Me at the waterfall

The typical hut a family lives in at this village



Now for a recap of my day. This video only shows a small part of my day, but you can see some of the beauty I encountered.