Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Restaurante Tentene Express
Narganá main square 6132 8927.
Small bamboo restaurant
with a few plastic tables and chairs offering fried or stewed chicken and beef in addition
to the usual seafood options: octopus, conch, fish and lobster. Most mains $6-10.
Daily
6.30am-10pm.
Río Azúcar
Five kilometres west of Narganá, the distinctive faded blue tower of the Catholic church and a
large water tower herald your arrival at the crowded, vibrant village of
Río Azúcar
(Wargan-
dup), where Westernization has left its mark.
Yos Aranda
can organize a
river trip
- either
as a day-trip or overnight stay - up the beautiful Río Azúcar (Guebdidiwar), where you can
awake to the sound of howler monkeys in the morning and the birdlife is truly spectacular.
This trip is highly recommended, especially when the water level is high enough for you to
penetrate further upriver by dugout.
ARRIVAL AND ACCOMMODATION: RÍO AZÚCAR
By boat
Río Azúcar is a 15min boat ride from Corazón de Jesús, the nearest airstrip.
Village accommodation
Yos Aranda (public phones 299 9069 or 299 9013), one of the
community's many
sailas
, is in charge of tourism and can sort out a family homestay or river
trip. Overnight river trips are possible (with extremely basic hammock accommodation).
Isla Tigre
Populous yet spacious, elongated
Isla Tigre (Digir Dupu)
has the rare luxury of a couple
of slender beaches. It is a community which is managing better than most to sustain Guna
mores while opening up to tourism, partly due to partitioning off the village from the grassy
community-run tourist areas, where you can loll in a hammock, enjoy a beer at the com-
munity restaurant, or sit on the sliver of
beach
in your swimwear - provided you cover up
to go into the village. Possible
excursions
for modest fees ($25-30) include to the main-
land cemetery, a three-hour hike to waterfalls or snorkelling round one of the nearby islands,
where coconuts are harvested.
Many aspects of
traditional living
are still practised: the conch is sounded to call men to
plant or harvest the crops, and families rotate to harvest coconuts. The community has its
own NGO and is actively involved in lobster protection and recycling practices. The Guna
dance - involving men playing panpipes and women shaking maracas - originated here and
during the mid-October
Feria de Isla Tigre
dance troupes from across the
comarca
compete
for prizes. You can catch them practising at weekends.
