THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 156

VISITING AN EMBERÁ COMMUNITY
At only a couple of hours' travel away from Panama City and Colón, the Emberá village
tour is an established favourite with cruise ships and tour operators . Publicity brochures
glibly talk about the Emberá “living much as their ancestors did centuries ago” although
you don't need to look further than the use of outboard motors, mobile phones and Span-
ish - not to mention the jeans and T-shirts often donned once the tourists have evaporated
- to see that the Emberá are undergoing radical change. Staying overnight , or preferably
for several nights, affords a better opportunity to interact with villagers and venture deeper
into the forest. That said, the day-tours can still offer visitors a fascinating partial snapshot
of traditional Emberá life and culture, and there are obvious benefits to communities: in-
come that will afford them greater self-determination, renewed cultural pride and a revival
of ancestral skills and traditions.
THE TOUR ITINERARY
Although villages vary in setting and character, excursions are similar. Prices ($85-150,
not necessarily including the $5 park entry fee) and tour group sizes vary; though even
travelling in a small party is no guarantee you won't be cheek by jowl with other tourists
once in the village, especially during the cruise ship season (Oct-April). Morning pick-
up (8am-8.30am) is followed by an hour's bus journey to Lago Alajuela, where life-
jacketed tourists fan out towards different villages in motorized dugouts. The boat trip
(30-60min depending on the village location and river water levels) is itself a highlight,
gliding through vine-laden forest with raptors wheeling overhead and metallic kingfishers
flashing past. At the villages , traditional wood and thatch buildings sit on stilts, and you'll
be greeted by enthusiastic kids and women, who form a dazzling collage of fluorescent
sarong-like skirts ( uhua ) and multicoloured bead-and-silver-coin necklaces, their hair often
adorned with hibiscus flowers.
Activities generally include a village tour, a talk about the traditional Emberá way of life
and a demonstration of basketry or woodcarving as well as a short walk into the rainforest
with one of the village elders to learn about medicinal plants. A simple lunch precedes tra-
ditional dances accompanied by drums, bamboo flutes and maracas, after which tourists
can get their bodies painted with jagua dye, frolic with the kids in the river and peruse the
finely made crafts on display. Unlike the Guna, the Emberá are fairly comfortable being
photographed and general shots of the village (though not inside homes) and dances are
allowed, though permission should be sought from individuals. Most tours pile back into
the dugouts at 2.30-3pm for the return trip.
VISITING INDEPENDENTLY
It is possible and cheaper to visit independently - several of the communities have their
own website with mobile phone contact numbers (listed here). They generally charge from