Day 4
Overnight we sailed to the Darien Province area. We started the day with a boat tour along the shoreline. We saw a few local people fishing.
We also saw numerous birds – Ibis, Pelicans, Ospreys, Frigates…).
Next we went kayaking – Our first time. I have to say, it was way more enjoyable than canoeing – very stable…and we stayed dry – no tip overs.
In the afternoon we boarded a motor boat and began our journey down the Sambú River towards one of the villages of the Embera people.
We were welcomed by many children and some of the men from the village. We walked about a kilometer along a very rustic boardwalk, then another distance along a muddy path until we came to the village. (Glad we brought hikers). Some of the children held my hand on the way. One little girl was freshly inked, so I had a blue hand for days later.
In the meeting area, we were greeted by their representative.
Men played music and younger girls performed dances.
Next we went for a tour of the village that included a church, a school and the homes.
The women sold carvings by the men and woven products that they produced. We bought a woven plate and a turtle carving from a palm nut.
The village had its own handmade sugar cane press for harvesting the juice for the use of many sugar products.
The finale for the kids in the village – the crew had brought them Christmas presents on this voyage and some of the passengers handed them out! They were thrilled with the soccer balls, basketballs, dolls, etc.
The day was very hot and humid (we were fortunate to miss the downpour as we sat under the thatch roof of the meeting centre for the performances). It is quite interesting seeing how this tribe mixes their past traditions with the introduction of modern society. The shower, once back on The Discovery, felt wonderful! And dinner was once again delicious.
Day 5
We woke up at the by San Telmo, the southern area of the Pearl Islands. The islands are named so because the waters around here once had an abundance of Pearl Oysters. A few locals boarded the vessel
They brought some of the pearls they had collected. They were extremely small.
No one bought pearls but some did try some fresh oysters they brought along.
This was a low key day – some kayaking and swimming at the sandy beach.
A view of an abandoned submarine could be seen on one of the beaches. It was always believed that this was a Japanese submarine. An archeologist, Delgado, viewed the wreck in 2001 and confirmed it was the first working submarine invented by German engineer Julius Kroehl. It was built in Brooklyn NY around 1864 and had its maiden voyage from New York City. They still don’t know how or why it was in The Pearl Islands! (Possibly looking for pearls…)
Tomorrow we wake up at the entrance of the Panama Canal….