Mogue, Darien
We got an early wake up call this morning, at anchor in Darien.
Darien is the easternmost province of Panama and includes 680,452 hectares of protected areas: Darien National Park with 579,000 hectares, and the wetland of international importance of Punta Patino with 13,805 hectares. Next to this private preserve, we found the village of Mogue, our destination for this morning.
We got into dugout canoes for an experience of a lifetime. These canoes were driven by people of Punta Alegre who are descendants of the Cimarron’s (slaves who escaped the Spaniards and hid out in the rainforest of Darien).
Next we headed up the Mogue River, passing trough a beautiful ecosystem of mangroves. We were able to see and appreciate this nursery of the ocean. Along the way, we saw birds like the mangrove black-hawk, whimbrel, little-blue heron, green kingfisher, red-lored amazon parrots and the beautiful roseate spoonbill. And then, waiting to receive us, the Embera, the people of the rivers of Darien.
The Embera people, one of the 7 different indigenous groups that live in Panama, live alongside the rivers of Darien. This is a proud and very friendly group that still practices its traditions and culture. They are widely known by their handcrafts that some of us bought today giving an impulse to their economy. We got to visit their village, learn about their culture, and they even performed some of their traditional dances for us. We were invited to join them on one dance. What an experience and what a privilege to be able to experience this!
Once back on the ship, we were on the lookout for seabirds and anything the ocean had to offer for our view. We were rewarded by the sights of a pomarine jeager, and pan tropical spotted dolphins.
Next stop Coiba National Park, world natural site by UNESCO.
We got an early wake up call this morning, at anchor in Darien.
Darien is the easternmost province of Panama and includes 680,452 hectares of protected areas: Darien National Park with 579,000 hectares, and the wetland of international importance of Punta Patino with 13,805 hectares. Next to this private preserve, we found the village of Mogue, our destination for this morning.
We got into dugout canoes for an experience of a lifetime. These canoes were driven by people of Punta Alegre who are descendants of the Cimarron’s (slaves who escaped the Spaniards and hid out in the rainforest of Darien).
Next we headed up the Mogue River, passing trough a beautiful ecosystem of mangroves. We were able to see and appreciate this nursery of the ocean. Along the way, we saw birds like the mangrove black-hawk, whimbrel, little-blue heron, green kingfisher, red-lored amazon parrots and the beautiful roseate spoonbill. And then, waiting to receive us, the Embera, the people of the rivers of Darien.
The Embera people, one of the 7 different indigenous groups that live in Panama, live alongside the rivers of Darien. This is a proud and very friendly group that still practices its traditions and culture. They are widely known by their handcrafts that some of us bought today giving an impulse to their economy. We got to visit their village, learn about their culture, and they even performed some of their traditional dances for us. We were invited to join them on one dance. What an experience and what a privilege to be able to experience this!
Once back on the ship, we were on the lookout for seabirds and anything the ocean had to offer for our view. We were rewarded by the sights of a pomarine jeager, and pan tropical spotted dolphins.
Next stop Coiba National Park, world natural site by UNESCO.
