Panama Canal Cruise 2020 - Day 6 — Captain Father John

After transiting the Panama Canal we cruised all night and reached the Darién at 7:30 am. The Darién is a province in eastern Panama, partially bounded by Colombia and the Pacific Ocean. It's home to a vast wilderness called the "Darién Gap," which refers to the roadless swathe of forest that's the "missing link" in the Pan-American Highway. Protected areas include Darién National Park, encompassing more than 4,600 square miles with serrated peaks, coastal lagoons and mangrove swamps. The Darién is home to the Embera Indians that live a primitive existence similar to when the Spaniards first landed. They live a day to day existence in which there are few economic pressures.

In 1992, 10 years after the foundation of the National Park, an unexpected incident changed the situation of Playa Muerto at once – at least temporarily. A small cruise ship appeared in front of the village and about 100 foreign tourists were brought to shore. They came to see the indigenous’ way of life and to buy souvenirs.

For a few years in a row, small cruise ships brought the longed-for visitors to the village three times a year, with remarkable impact: it didn’t just provide the community with enough income for the whole year, it also helped revive their traditions like dancing, body painting, and the making of handicrafts. Playa Muerto came back to life. Over time, the village grew back to its original size – a simple, harmonious, and sustainable life was possible again.

We went ashore at 8:30 am in the inflatable boats. Each boat had an Embera pilot onboard. The Embera are experts on timing the crashing surf on the beach where we need to land. The pilot watches and counts the waves and tells the boat driver when to make a move to land the boat. After riding the surf to the beach, several Embera men spin the boat around into the surf and we all hop off. Hop off is a relative term for 70 and 80 year olds with every known malady. We hopped off at a glacial pace.

We were greeted on the beach by more Embera people that seemed genuinely happy to see us. Apparently their only visitors are from Tauck cruises once per week during a three month period. There were six musicians playing local music as we walked by. We were escorted up the hill to view a cooking demonstration. We continued up the hill to an area set up with a large thatch hut and a small market. The Embera put on a demonstration of local dances. The young girls danced first followed by the women and finally the men played their instruments.

After the entertainment we were encouraged to show our appreciation by purchasing the Embera’s unique tribal handicrafts. The Tauck representative advised that negotiating is discouraged.

After some shopping we headed back down the hill to the beach. The departure was well organized with the Embera turning the boats around into the surf and helping everyone climb onboard. We were back on the ship by 11:00 am. We will cruise for 1.5 days and 450 miles to reach Costa Rica. That means a full day at sea tomorrow. We have a POSH cabin. This means I researched the cruise to determine which side of the ship will have shade in the afternoon instead of blistering sun. Since we are cruising north for 450 miles our cabin is on the starboard side going home (SH = starboard home) to Costa Rica. This was originally done by the English traveling to India by ship. They wanted a port side cabin going to India (facing east and a starboard side cabin (facing east returning to England so they abbreviated it to POSH.

Landing on the Playa del Muerto. Beach of Beach.

John and Priscilla hanging out on the Playa del Muerto.

An Embera dad and daughters greet us on the beach.