Kalifa Clyne
Published:
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
There is a secret side of Panama, the almost untouched serenity of wild jun-gle belonging to its indigenous people in the Embera Village.
The village, located on the Chagres river, is populated by a few hundred indigenous natives, living in solar pow-ered huts and wearing beaded colourful pieces of clothing and flowers in their hair.
Getting to the village isn’t hard with a tour guide, but it rewardingly involves traversing a river in a dugout canoe manned by two indigenous men in coloured loin cloths and necklaces.
The river is surrounded by jungle on either side, and while the natives speak their own language, they can tell you, in Spanish, about the wildlife that reside there.
If you ask nicely, you may be treated to short hikes to natural pools and water-falls.
The beauty lies in the Embera tribe’s ability to stay apart from the moderni-sation on the other side of Panama while living a seemingly happy life.
They are happy to give tourists tours in their wooden huts and share tradi-tional dances while selling handmade crafts or offering traditional meals of fish and plantains. Don’t say no to the fish and plantains!
Panama is undoubtedly the shopping capital of the region. Made famous by the canal built 100 years ago, the country is located on an isthmus which connects Central and South America. People talk about Panamanian malls with the same reverence that they talk about French Art or Italian architecture.
However Panama isn’t just one thing. For Caribbean travellers, while it is wildly different in many ways, Panama is a lot like home, with a little something for everyone.
If one is unprepared, Panama seems a little schizophrenic, with its multiple personalities juxtaposing peacefully against each other, jungle meets suburbs, meet energetic nightlife, meet architec-tural gems.
The first view of Panama when one arrives by air is of a magnificent skyline, buildings that curve or twist upward as they reach toward heaven, surpassing the height of some Caribbean mountain ranges. Panama seems prosperous and busy and beckons like the fast kinetic energy of Miami.
Then it doesn’t, because in the capital of Panama city—the hodgepodge mix of small neighbourhood shops, cafés and supermarkets shoving against designer boutiques, hotels and main offices of international corporations like Samsung and Nike—presents a Panama where locals and tourists are maybe equal in number.
Two hours away from Panama City is La Playa Blanca, a resort beach with soft cream-coloured sand that winks like stars under the moonlight. It is beach populated with hotels like the Riu Playa Blanca, massive in size and oppor-tunities for adventure.
The hotel offers a number of pools, stunning views and pool choices, the opportunity for water always on the agenda and staff intermittently play games at the pool or dance on the beach.
This is where Panama feels like home, if being home meant being relaxed and pampered by always accommodating hotel staff and stuffing your stomach with food and as many alcoholic beverages you like, including the complimentary four bottles of alcohol in the hotel room.
Playa Blanca is on the Pacific side of Panama and because of the geography, surrounded by high mountain ranges, it almost never rains. Playa Blanca is Panama for the relaxed tourist.
Panama for the conservationists, explorers and art lovers is a lot closer to the city at Casco Viejo, where young men will ensure your vehicle is looked after for a few dollars.
Casco Viejo, or the old city, stands proud, rebellious like a Spanish citadel waiting for the onslaught of modern skyscrapers pressing for space in the crowded capital. It is well preserved and protected. Spanish styled churches, schools and government buildings line narrow streets populated with people speaking both Spanish and English.
It is bold and beautiful, with a hilly backdrop and bordered by a bridge making a semi-circular loop around the place where the Pacific ocean teases in the daytime and fills up at night. From the bridge, the personalities of Panama are on full display, the old beautiful buildings bordered by a magnificent Trump Tower, malls the size of tiny villages and ongoing construction.
A trip across the bridge of the Americas takes you back to Panama city, where hundreds of hotels reach toward the sky and hundreds of deals edge a little closer.
Panamanian prices are the real deal. It’s like a black Friday sale all year long. It is no secret that many Caribbean fashion store owners buy their wares in Panama for about 200 per cent less than they retail it at home.
The city is strange due to its apparent lack of native Panamanians. It’s a tourist city, filled with shopping, great restaurants and pubs and a nightlife that takes you around the world, not because of the diversity of clubs but of the people. In the city it is as finding yourself talking to a Swedish writer as a Panamanian businessman.
lifestyle
A woman from the Embera Village takes a photo with two dugout canoes. This man enjoys playing the flute. Their culture won’t be the same without music. Photos: KALIFA CLYNE