La Chunga - The Darien

8am we set off to La Chunga, a village nestled alongside a river branch, which is named after the palms leaves the ladies use to weave beautiful baskets. 

Marco, the guide (aged 5) scouts ahead.

45 minutes later.

The path to the Emberaa village.
If you think it looks as if they mow it its because they do...

Ricardo took me to his home village with his son, Marco. We stayed at the house of his mother. We got the chance to look around some of the houses, which were built in a traditional style.

Cooking

Pot storage.

Home sweet home.

Really home life is very simple. I asked about the living conditions and everyone sleeps in the same one or two rooms. This includes newly married couples who share not only a house but also a bedroom with their parents and siblings....

Rice store.

Rice, harvested annually.

Ugly chickens.

Beautiful children. Bad teeth.
Over-eating sugar products is a real problem here.

Then they wanted to use my camera.

Ricardo displays the BEST FRUIT IN TOWN. I love this stuff!
Don't know what its called but the name sounds like the word for shoes.

A hostile resident.

Don't stray from the paaatthhh

We went on a jungle walk. It was very good and Ricardo was very knowledgeable. He showed me all sorts of plants and stuff. I did laugh out loud when he cut this large stick (below) and said it was their method of birth control, but he wasn't joking. The women eat this once a month and don't get pregnant.

Obviously, no one had mentioned this to the woman with whom I was living - she has 14 children.

Birth control - the Emberaa way.

Women here earn about $200 per year. This is from selling small handmade items to tourists (few) and from doing small jobs or selling food items.

Having a paddy.

Most of the rice they grow is for own consumption. One they grow and harvest it the store it in a granary, which just keeps it off the ground. The women have to de-husk the rice in a pestle and mortar by hand before they can cook it.

Man models flowers.

I was a bit nervous when we took two guides into the jungle. What could be out there? Then I discovered the second guide was back up in case the first guide got lost. Which he did.

Woman eats non magic mushroom.

Child reconstructs pig pen which he accidentally breaks.

Actually the visit was really good. The village was relaxing and natural - if I'd have know I would have stayed for longer. There was a guy there from the States who is with the Peace Corps (think VSO) and he told me a lot, like how he is trying to help them expand their agricultural crop to coffee and cocoa so they can generate more income and how they want more tourists to come.

Then, all too quickly, it was time to go home.

Playing stuck in the mud.

Spot the alligator. Seriously! Or is it a caiman?

This was after I had been swimming with the children in a small branch of the river the day before.

Heading back...Marco gets bored of scouting out.

Steps back to Sambu.

Sambu - The Darien

When I was in the Kuna Yala (San Blas) I met two Italian ladies who told me about their trip to a little visited corner of Panama, called The Darien.

The area is very remote and, because of this, you need to book a flight and hope it isn't full. The flight is cheap because it's actually the postal delivery service and hospital flight. As demonstrated by the gentleman on my return voyage who appeared to be dead. The plane holds a maximum of eight people OR four people and luggage. Its about the size of an Alfa Romeo, with wings.

I considered what the Italian ladies had told me and decided to book myself a flight. The internet wouldn't let me, so I decided to go to Albrook Airport, where you can book in person. Lady at the desk refused to sell me a ticket to the destination of choice. Basically it was a case of 'Computer says no'.

So I bought a ticket to a nearby place (on her advice) figuring I may be able to get a taxi or bus the (Google Earth stated) 18 minute drive. Sadly Google Earth neglected to take into account the following considerations.
1. Miles of jungle between the two places
2. A rather large mountain, covered in miles of jungle between the two places
3. There is no road

Anyway, on the day in question I arrived at the airport and persuaded them to change my ticket. The plane did fly to Sambu - hoorah! (Well, they diverted it) and I set off. In honesty, I was really close to not going due to the uncertainty, but I knew there was a hotel or two there and the Italian ladies had told me a really helpful couple, so what the heck...?

This small plane..

..could be filled during a trip to Morrison's..

This is the runway. Yes, its grass.

40 winks. Yes, that is the pilot.

I arrived in Sambu about 70 minutes and three stops later. Basically this plane is like the bus, it stops everywhere. Man with a wheelbarrow rolls up, there is an exchange of post, man rolls off..

My room. $12 / 8 quid a night

A place to chill..

The centre of town (honestly),
you can see the airstrip in the background.

This is the town next door.

People were friendly enough, although a little reserved and obviously not completely used to tourists.

Rio not grande

The phone for the whole town. When I called the hotel
I was confused as to why I kept getting a different person answering.

This person recently moved to another town.
You just basically take your house bits
and build the skeletal structure.

Posh house

As I went for a wander I saw a few little stores, which sell rudimentary stuff..plantain, rice, pasta, canned milk, cakes, bread and (the best sellers)  fizzy drinks and sweets.

This woman was keen to show me her range of fish.

Kids playing footy. They asked me if I knew Wayne Rooney.

I had a chat with the nice man, Ricardo and booked to do a trip to a river side jungle village the next day.

Panama City

So, as cities go El Ciudad de Panama is not a 'must visit'. It does not have the extensive beautiful architecture of Barcelona, Paris or Rome. It isn't as exciting as New York or as old as Moscow, but you can spend a few days here pottering round and having a nosey. Here are a few fun (cheap) things to do...

1. Unless you are veggie...go to the fish market, try ceviche or cocktail. They make it in all different types...from octopus to conchuela (that winkled-out-of-shell snail, see Kuna Yala post) to prawn. Ceviche is basically raw fish which is 'cooked' in lime juice and peppers. Its really good.

One I made earlier

C. Find China Town (near the fish market).

Pretty obvious.

In China Town they have loads of 'fiesta' shops. Thinking of having a party? You can get everything you'd ever need here. And then some. Want some glasses with Barack Obama's face attached? Got 'em! Need a man sized tiger costume? Sorted. Looking for a comedy hat stand. It's here...

'Casa Pritty, taking the P out of pretty'

Or find a jewellery store. They have everything here...

An Ex Ample

Check out their real pearls and ask for an explanation.

Eyes left, right and centre are fresh water cultured (farmed) pearls of different, colours. Shell for fresh water pearls front right. Eyes front; the ivory pearls are salt water pearls. Shell front left. You are looking at a good few thousand dollars worth of stuff.

Knit one...

4. Find a small church like place and take advantage of the air con for a while. Its damn humid here.

Chapel of Saint Maria Goretti, whose life was not fun. 

E. Visit the Parque Municipal and see the wildlife.

Tortua

See the world's largest rodent. A Capybara.

Half a capybara.

Couldn't eat a whole one.

Admire the view.


Panama City.
 

I'd like to have been more entertaining in this blog but it's 3.42am and somewhere nearby someone is having a party where they are playing really bad rap/house music over which they are shouting words of encouragement. I'd like to suggest it's dubbing but I understand that usually has to compliment the music. Under normal circumstances I'd give up trying to sleep and would go and join them but am refusing on the grounds of their rubbishness...

'Completed in 1913 and opened in 1914....

..the Panama Canal is an amazing feat of engineering...'

That's what the brochure says anyway. Went for a visit yesterday and it is actually quite gob-smackingly amazing. For $5 you get to climb up to the observation deck from where you can view the ships' passage through the Canal. For an extra $3 you get to see a 3D film. Though while it's quite good, it's probably not worth that.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of information about how they actually organize movement through the Canal but I can tell you this: in the morning ships go north to south and in the afternoon they go south to north. There is a two hour break in the middle of the day, during which they probably line them up. These ships are huge. However, evidently not huge enough because they are currently building locks which will allow bigger ships to pass.

I was talking to someone about it and they said that probably most of the products we own in the UK which have come from China have passed through the Canal at some point. Mind boggling.

The huge boats get towed through by these little tug trains...

Four tug trains to one huge ship..

There are two locks at Miraflores, the place we visited.

A tanker, not Thomas

After being at sea for a long while the seaman seem quite astounded by the number of people watching them (100-200) they take pictures of the crowds.

Man waving and taking pictures.

These are the lock doors. There are four of them at each end of each lock. They weight 700 tonnes each. That is (apparently) the weight of about 300 elephants.

Starting to close..

Bit more closed

They are about 20m in length across the top

Its not like cycling the Kennet and Avon Canal

Note size of people in foreground

It was a lovely day too, nice enough for an ice-cream

I hear the weather is 'bloody miserable' at home

Nearly there...

 

Closed. And with huge cargo vessel in background.
Amongst other things this ship is carrying 6000 pairs of shoes!

This is view eyes left, a second lock for ships to pass through.

 The ships go from sea level up, into a lake which takes them through the centre of Panama (the water in the locks is fresh water). They then have two other locks at the other side to descend back down to sea level.

One tanker and one ENORMOUS ship.

 

The ship in the background is a car transporter called the CSAV Rio Grande. It was absolutely enormous. Being a bit of a train(ship?)-spotter I rushed right home and looked it up on 'tinternet.

 

Check out the CSAV Rio Grande for yourself

 

(I'm such an anorak)

 

The verdict? Panama Canal, well worth a visit. 

 

Postcard Picture-Perfect Paradise.

Ok, I know there are those out there who think that pictures of paradise (yes, it was) are a bit like rubbing people's noses in it. So here I am going to redress the balance just a little.

Here are a list of things it is possible to miss whilst staying with the Kuna Yala:

- Flushing toilets
- Showers ( a 'pour on' just isn't the same)
- Hot water
- Fresh running water
- A mosquito-free environment
- As a pale-face more shade is always a good thing
- Electricity
- Meals which don't include rice
- Waking up without sand in your pants

So, you see, even when a place is perfect it isn´t perfect... unless you crawl into the nearest hammock clutching a Coco Loco and musing over how lovely the world is.