April 11, 2023
The pier is efficient. Our motor coach was waiting right beside the ship. It looks like they are constructing an amazing cruise terminal here and it made me wonder if this may become an embarkation port at some time in the future. Panama City is visible in the distance.
Fuetre Amador has a pretty sea walk and a shopping area convenient for the tourists. More about that later. Today, we had an early start as we drove 1.5 hours to get to the main event of our Princess excursion:”Authentic Embera Native Village” 8:00AM -2:30PM.
We unloaded at the Chagres River
Yes, we are getting in those long, motorized dugout canoes. Each canoe has an Embera guide in the back who operates the motors and a guide in the front with a pole.
It is at the end of the dry season and water levels are low, so we traversed the steep, rocky bank to board the canoes. We took a similar excursion a few years ago and they were able to use pontoon boats.
They seated us one per row in the front and back, but lucky us got seated two to a row in the middle rows. And we are off….
The guy behind us took lots of photos today, too, so I am sure we are in each other’s photos often.
Our guide with the pole would soon regret seating so much weight in his canoe. Often he had to get out and push while other canoes would zip past us.
We passed other Embera villages tucked among the trees along the way.
As we arrived at our destination, villagers helped us out of the canoes, stored our life jackets, and greeted us with music.
Notice the staircase carved from the hard-packed earth.
First stop, the restrooms. They are up the hill in the white building in the back of the photo. The ladies’ side had two working stalls. The water in the sink was a slow drip, but there was a faucet outside that worked much better. Fortunately, I thought to throw a pack of tissues into my bag as toilet paper was scarce.
We entered a large gathering hut where we were personally greeted by the tribal leader of this village. One of our guides interpreted for us. One of the women demonstrated how they die grass and weave baskets and other items, and our guide explained that the villagers are wearing attire that they would wear for celebrations. The silver disks on the women’s tops used to be made from actual silver. The men’s coverups are beaded. Normally, the men would be wearing loin cloths and the women would tie a cloth around their waist but be topless in the camp. They wear “normal” clothing if they need to go into the city.
After the talk, they treated us to a snack of fried fish and plantains wrapped in a leaf for each person and they brought out platters of fruit for us to share.
We had some time to enjoy our snack, do some shopping, and explore the village. Each family group set up booths in the shopping hut.
We reassembled in the large hut and they demonstrated several native dances. The men played instruments while the women danced.
Then they danced as family groups and invited some of us to join them.
When it was time to leave, we boarded our canoes for the trip back. This time they seated us one per row, and we didn’t drag as much on the return.
Our bus dropped us back at the ship, but I handed off my stuff to hubby and caught the shuttle from the ship to the port shopping area.
The road in the construction zone is dusty and bumpy and not very scenic, but once we made it to the main road it turned into a pretty drive.
The shuttle drops off at this shopping center which is also a convenient place for catching taxis into Panama City or other destinations close by.
I made sure to sit on the right side of the shuttle for our return to the pier so I could get full effect of the beautiful marina and sea-walk views.
We learned from our captain that ships must arrive a full 24 hours before their scheduled time to enter the canal. I’m glad we had this day in Fuerte Amador. Tomorrow we sail under the Bridge of the Americas and through the new locks of the Panama Canal.