Over the 4th of July weekend joined my friend Kirk and his friend and sister in the Darien jungle. The Darien is on the border with Colombia, but we were in an area that has very little FARC acitivity...surprisingly, the former comment did little to calm my anxious parents, especially since they recently lost a bunch of kidnappees.
The Darien region only has a population of 6000 people despite being the second largest region in Panama - a country of 3.5mil people. After spending 3 days in the jungle, I can see why. The environment was far from comfortable, often characterized by heat, humidity, a constant presence of biting insects, venomous frogs, and snakes, and a huge population of plants that sting or have large spikes. Nevertheless, as you'll see below, it is a beautiful and strange region, worth having experienced :)
Monica, Kirk, Jason and I departed from Panama city in the "plane" going to La Palma "aiport" - read: took off in a tin can that landed on a gravel road.
Despite the 45min flight, 60 min van ride, 2.5h boat ride, and 15 min hike it took to get to the very remote lodge in Punta Patina, it was surprisingly quaint with little hedges (filled with butterflies) surrounding 10 little cabins next to a lodge with a big community room and veranda.
There were a lot of insects...everywhere. This picture is roughly to scale.
Here is the veranda that looked out over the canopy. Before breakfast we would use the binoculars to spot big birds, iguanas, and monkeys near the top of the forest. The hammocks were perfect (as long as there was at least a slight breeze).
Here is the front of the dugout canoe (with motor) as we headed out to the Embera village. We got lucky and saw what is involved in making one of these...read further....
Occasional fisherman stand in small fishing boats..
Headed up a river toward one of the Embera villages...pretty serene.
We were welcomed by a crowd of about 20 villagers who walked with us for 20 minutes to the village. All the open huts are raised above the muddy and buggy ground. Only the wealthiest families can afford walls.
This was apparently a less muddy day
We are on our way to virgin forest! ...at a quick pace
on the way back, we met up with the men of the village who were working on pushing the makings of a new canoe through the jungle. When we found them they were about 30 m from the stump and progress looked dismally slow. They cheered when they saw Kirk and Jason who both weighed twice as much as any of the local villagers.
Thrilling musical and dance performances were part of the program
Cat and Kirk doing a little work while waiting for the very delayed tin can to arrive.
No horrible diseases yet!
We did a massive workout, then went to the Italian market and bought a bunch of cherries and a gallon of water. Since we both like cooking and shiny things used for cooking, I bought this pan...either I have a really small stove top of this pan is tremendous (come visit to find out!!)
Chris and I at the science museum learn things about getting dizzy...
...and about how dominoes often fall down when you are almost done setting them up...
We biked along the river and watched this group of roller-skaters that had an awesome vibe going.
On the Monday afterward, I headed to New York for a new project - here is the view from my room in the Palace.
Last weekend I got back to my roots and went out for Dim Sum with my buddy Shawn from work and his new wife, Anita. Mmmm, sweet tofu soup and custard buns...
