Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
so have your passport ready and be prepared to discuss your travel plans. Occasionally, a
soldier will lecture you about the dangers near the border - that's because it's their job to
go there if something happens.
Forty-five kilometers east of Lago Bayano, is the town (or towns) of
Ipetí
: Ipetí Em-
berá, Ipetí Kuna and Ipetí Colono. Each is occupied by a different cultural group (Kuna,
Emberá and Latino). Activities here include walks along the Río Ipetí to a series of natur-
al swimming pools fed by small waterfalls. You can also hire one of the villagers to take
you here by dugout canoe, a unique opportunity to watch wildlife at an unhurried pace.
Ask around for homestays. A small handicrafts store sells Emberá woven baskets and
you can receive a traditional jagua body painting for a few dollars. This henna-like plant
extract leaves a temporary tattoo for up to two weeks.
A recommended English-speaking Kuna naturalist guide,
Igua
( 6700-3512)
leads
boat tours to nearby Lago Bayano and can lead hikes into the rainforest, though it helps
to have a decent command of Spanish.
Twelve kilometers past Ipetí is the village of
Tortí
, a useful stop with a restaurant, po-
lice station and health clinic.
Hospedaje Tortí
( 6743-3697; d with/without bathroom
US$18/14; )
has squat cinderblock rooms, each with a decent mattress and clean
towels for cold-water showers. Rooms with bathrooms have air-con. Roadside restaurant
Avicar
(dishes US$3-5)
serves traditional country-style Panamanian dishes and you're
likely to share a table with some pretty interesting characters.
DEFORESTATION IN THE DARIÉN
As little as 50 years ago, more than 70% of Panama was covered by forest. Defor-
estation is the country's gravest environmental problem. Today, trees continue to
be felled at a rapid pace, with the Darién serving as the ecological ground zero.
Logging trucks and river barges move the trunks to mills. Floated lumber is
sprayed with a chemical that prevents rot but also wreaks havoc on the local envir-
onment, particularly on the health of agricultural plots and fish stocks.
At stake are not only local animal populations, but also migratory animals seek-
ing seasonal food supplies. Rainforest destruction also threatens the traditional
cultures of the Emberá and the Wounaan. Deforestation results in regional water
shortages during the dry season, as well as number of other environmental prob-
lems ranging from pollution to erosion.
For much of the rural population, hunting and logging have been a way of life for
generations. Many communities feel that their economic welfare is dependent on
these practices. In 2011, ANAM (Panama's national environmental agency) asked
