Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
humid under the canopy of trees, and there is a thick, muggy mist
always hanging in the air. So far, it has rained almost constantly.
To his credit, Juan woke today feeling much better and pressed
on. We got off to a good start from Canaan and covered the first 25 kilo-
metres very quickly. We run, scramble, climb—whatever the terrain
dictates. I think the message has got through to the soldiers that as
well as safety we need speed. The mud was thick and slushy after
heavy rain last night. There were many river crossings today, and I fell
into the fast-moving water twice. Eventually, though, we left the mud
behind for a riverside path to the mountains.
We're trekking from the southern, Pacific side of Panama towards
the Caribbean Sea section of the Atlantic, on the northern coast. The
indigenous people, including the Embera-Wounaan and Kuna tribes,
have villages deep in the jungle. The native people of the Darién don't
grow hair on their arms, legs or faces, so have no need for razors. They
wear colourful traditional garb and headdresses as bright as the plum-
age of the jungle birds. We've been told that they are welcoming but
that there is an element of danger in visiting their camps, because
guerrillas often hole up in them. They have ingratiated themselves
with the indigenous people by helping them to defend their villages
against opposing tribes, so villagers may do the FARC's bidding,
including being accomplices in kidnappings. My guards, who see their
major role as forming good relationships with the villagers and flush-
ing out the criminal element, go out of their way to befriend the locals
in the hope that they may be allies against the FARC, whose members
are sworn to do anything they can to disrupt the government.
I've been encouraged to wear a Panama Red Cross T-shirt, because
the US shirts may make me a target. I'm also wearing long pants to
ward off bites from the Darién's mosquitoes, which look to me the size
of bats!
Dinner tonight was fresh-caught fish and wild rice.
sePtember 26
I woke to the horrendous screams of howler monkeys. It's good to be
away from the highways and the noise of passing vehicles. All I can
hear in the Darién are the sounds of monkeys, birds, frogs, crickets, an
occasional wild boar and the rush of water.
