I’m sunburned, exhausted, covered with bug bites, and have a mild case of the runs. But was it worth it? Heck Ya! A two-day jaunt turned into a six-day adventure in the hills of Panama with the Native Guaymi Indians.
I had arranged to have a guide take me into the Indian Reserve to meet and photograph the indigenous people living high in the mountains. As it turned out my guide was not a guide, but just a guy. A guy who lived in the area and has family in the hills. He is 34 years old and goes by Alfredo. We’ll call him Al from here on out.
As it turns out, there are no guides or even maps to the myriad of small villages and foot trails scattered throughout this region of Panama set aside for the Guaymi people. And the Guaymi are not keen on outsiders, even Panamanians, visiting their land.
Indigenous people certainly have historical reasons to be leery and the Guaymi in particular are protective of their natural resources and mineral rights. Each local area within the vast reserve has a Cacique or chief who grants or denies permission to enter or pass through his parcel.
At one point it got a little tense, with one particular Cacique checking me out before finally consenting to our passing through his territory.
The first day was an adventure in itself. Al and I headed into the mountains toward the village of Chami in Baby Blue, my trusted transport thus far on my trip. The four-wheel drive aspect of the little blue pick-up was essential for this rain damaged mountain road. I am truly a novice at four-wheeling as recreation but I tasted the thrill of the avocation in a big way. It’s sort of like a clunky form of skiing or snowboarding. You have to pick your line to avoid the biggest bumps, holes and other hazards. You must also control your speed. Too slow and you will lose momentum and stall or get stuck. Too fast and you could roll or bounce right out of the truck. And getting stuck is a very real possibility, one that we experienced.
During the current rainy season the road was not passable without four-wheel drive. Erosion and other vehicles had formed huge irregular ruts. Boulders and mud added another dimension of excitement. We were on a steep incline when I slid sideways and planted the back axle firmly onto bedrock. The wheels were spinning freely and so was my brain. Al and I got busy with the jack and lots of rocks. We raised the truck little by little as we as we crammed rocks under the tires. Eventually we were able to roll back out of the jam and continue on a slightly altered course.
Baby Blue Taxi for hire!!
Baby Blue became a taxi for several folks along the route, including Betice, a young woman in a beautiful black dress. The dress was typical of the Guaymi women. Guaymi men have no corresponding native attire; most wearing modern, yet tattered clothes
Alfredo and Betice.
But back to Betice! She seemed to be enamored by my new pal Al. They seemed to hit it off well, although the cultural and language differences made it hard for me to tell what exactly what was happening between them.
Many Guaymi speak two different dialects and some Spanish. Betice and Al were speaking a dialect and Betice wasn’t speaking to me much at all. She was friendly to me but shy.
When we reached the end of the road for Baby Blue, Betice said she knew of an alternate route to our destination that could involve a night’s stay with her family. It was getting late in the day and we had to plan for the probability of rain. Al and I agreed to go for it.
The trek to her small village was yet another challenge for the day. We walked for about four and a half-hours and arrived at dusk. The hike was exhausting and exhilarating. Up and down lush green hills and in and out of an ever so rapidly changing cloudscape. Billowy balls and wispy wisps fingering between ridges in the distance became an enchanted wonderland as entered them. The banks of cool moisture greeted our faces and left behind its light residue.
Me in the enchanted forest.
The next morning, sweet black coffee never tasted so good. I hadn’t slept well on my bed of bamboo slats and was not even close to being rejuvenated from the previous day’s toll. A bowl of rice and some kind of squash and we were on our way.
We had to get an early start to make some progress before the rain that often comes at around 1:00 PM. I was surprised when Betice joined us in our departure from the small group of huts. She did so in spite of the cries of her year and a half-old daughter. I asked her if she was sad to be leaving her daughter. She smiled and said no. I didn’t understand but didn’t ask any more questions.
A few hours later it became obvious that we were going to need shelter from the rain very soon. We inquired at the next hut we came to and we were directed to a larger dwelling not much further along the trail. Went spent the rest of the day and the night there. I needed rest but did not feel totally welcome and couldn’t really relax. A plywood plank on the dirt floor was my bed. We shared our food with them in exchange for their hospitality.
Betice (center) and family.
The next day we parted company with Betice and she headed back to her village alone. I was sorry to see her go. Each day she had reached into her little pack and donned a new colored dress. At the end of each day I was covered with mud and drenched with sweat, she looked like a picture from a page of Guaymi Vogue with a matching flower in her hair.
The next two nights were spent at a very friendly little village in an exquisitely beautiful spot. I felt very relaxed and welcome. Still no mattress and box springs but I was getting used to the bamboo.
Minor Setback…
We went for a day hike without our packs and I felt like a gazelle, well no, perhaps a buffalo with some really sore hindquarters. It was a beautiful day nonetheless.
This little village consisted of about eight huts on a grassy knoll separated by some trees and vegetation. There were some more huts within a few minutes walking distance and a ‘grocery store’ about ten minutes away.
The local convenience mart.
We stopped at the store on the way home from our hike. I was dumbfounded at the price of a bottle of soda. Twenty-five cents! It wasn’t exactly cold but I still would have paid five dollars!
My kingdom for a soda!
I did have some great little snacks in the village. There was sugar cane and they made a chocolate drink out of the native cacao plant that was quite tasty. It was jet black and had a little bit of a roasted flavor. For breakfast I was served a cornmeal porridge with some unidentified additions. It had a spicy flavor with bits of something purple in it. It was a welcome change from rice, rice and more rice.
On our second morning our plan was to head for Baby Blue. I was more than ready to head back. It had been and incredible cultural and wilderness experience. But I was dreaming of a cold beer, a hot shower and a mattress. No one else was involved in this fantasy, just me and my mattress! But it was not to be! A two-hour estimate turned into four hours and we still were not even close. I was not in any condition to continue in the heat of midday. But we were very close to our first night’s stop, Betice’s village! Coincidence? I think my Guide/Guy had designed the last part of our itinerary around seeing Betice again. He denied any such intentions. I didn’t matter; I had to get over it. We were in for another night of bamboo!
Cornmeal and chocolate on the menu.
I had some pork for dinner that night. The first animal protein of the trip! My bowl had a piece of pig hide with hair on it. Perhaps it just slipped by that there ASDA inspector guy.
Speaking of animals, I asked Al if he could find someone from the village who would rent out a horse to help me back to Baby Blue. Yes was the answer. I had to pay for the horse and for the owner to come along to bring the horse back. I would have gladly paid five times the price. I felt very guilty and spoiled for the first mile or so. It was not a big horse and he wasn¹t used to such a big rider as myself. I rationalized that he did this every day and that if I had done the walking, I would have been in much worse shape than he was going to be at the end of the day. And the owner was very happy to get the money. Ok, Ok, so I wimped-out. But I added horseback riding to my adventure.
All in all, Al was a champ. We spent a tremendous number of hours together. He gave me a window into a world I never could have seen on my own. He may not have been a Guide but he was one heck of a Good Guy and he took care of me. My food, shelter and safety were his main concerns. Interestingly we never discussed money until the trip was over. In the beginning, he picked out the groceries, I paid for them and we took off. I was happy to make sure that he was more than happy with his compensation.
