This was my second time in Panama, though this visit wasn’t by choice. It was the only way to change my ticket from Caracas to the US without paying an extra fee. I chose the Nomada Republic hotel in the city center for its convenient location.
Each container was divided into two rooms, with the ends replaced by glass to serve as windows. Inside, there were all the necessary amenities like a modern shower and air conditioning making it actually quite a nice place to stay.
For us, Panama is primarily associated with the canal. I already visited the Panama Canal back in 2018. Although the canal has since been expanded, I had no desire to go see it again. Instead, I visited the Canal Museum and the History Museum. Both museums left me with the impression that the material was presented somewhat superficially; they simply listed facts and displayed various artifacts.
It is mentioned in passing that construction workers were lured by promises of high wages, they lived in harsh conditions, and that many perished from tropical diseases and infections. One of the displays dryly notes the abduction of Panama’s de facto leader, Manuel Noriega, by US forces in January 1990 (Maduro was not the first abducted president).
To keep myself occupied, aside from walking around the city under the scorching sun, I signed up for a trip to Chagres National Park. There, you can swim in a waterfall and visit a village belonging to the local indigenous people, the Emberá tribe. The Emberá living in the jungles of the Darién Gap lead a completely primitive lifestyle; they number around 40,000. Two thousand of them petitioned the Panamanian government for permission to settle in Chagres so they could live in more or less civilized conditions.
The Emberá built a village there. They can fish in the river but are not allowed to hunt. Traditionally, the Emberá wear cloths wrapped around their hips made from tree bark. The bark is soaked in water and split into fibers, which are then woven into fabric. It is not customary for either men or women to cover their upper bodies. However, stripping bark from trees is prohibited in the park, so the Emberá living there are forced to buy Chinese fabrics to make their clothes. The women were instructed to cover their chests for the sake of visiting tourists.
We brought our own lunch supplies. The Embera people grow cassava, avocados, and bananas. They get meat, pineapples, melons, and watermelons only from tourists.
After dances and stories about village life we headed back to the boats. The trail was steep and slippery from frequent rains. At the start of the path, everyone picked up walking sticks. I always manage without one, I don’t like having my hands occupied. I made my way to the waterfall and the village confidently, holding onto the railing and the vegetation. Things were going well on the way back too until right as I was approaching the boat, I lost my balance, fell onto my side, and strained a tendon in my right elbow. My arm started hurting immediately, but it could have been much worse.
In my trip reports, I describe things exactly as they are so as not to create the false impression that everything always goes perfectly for me. I encounter plenty of issues along the way – traumas, stomach troubles, and infections – and I never hide that. My right arm was not seriously injured but it was aching for several weeks and I could not fully straighten it or put any weight on it. There was nothing to do about it. I just had to be patient and to wait for the tendon to heal.
This is the final post about the trip I took this past June and July, the journey I was very happy with. I traveled through Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, and Panama, seeing many interesting things along the way and spending time with great people.