When we ask our guests who travel on our Between Two Seas cruise in Costa Rica and Panama, to name their most memorable experience, the overwhelming response is their experience visiting the Embera village in the Darien Jungle of Panama. We have a long involvement with this particular village and even support them through our Our Bear Cares program. So, when I saw this video by our friends over at Turnhere, I was thrilled. The timing of this video is serendipitous as our staff writer, Gail Manahan just finished up a background piece on the tribe. I hope you enjoy the video and Gail's article.
The Emberá people reside in the Darien Jungle beside rivers, and along the coast. They are thought to have migrated here from northern Ecuador and southern Colombia in the mid-1800s. Their population in Panama today is estimated to be around 15,000. The Emberá thrive by practicing subsistence agriculture, hunting, fishing and raising poultry. They also create, on a small scale, plantations to grow commercial crops such as plantains, bananas, rice, and maize.
With the encroachment of the Pan-American highway, Latinos and missionaries, these indigenous people are working to maintain their culture and traditions, to preserve their language and values and to find economic ideas to supplement their meager incomes.
Emberá homes are built on stilts up to 10 feet off the ground, with wooden floors. The stilts protect them from insects on the ground and flooding during the rainy season. People get into their homes using a log in which they have carved steps. Typical houses are composed of two rooms, the largest with hammocks, for sleeping, and the other room for their fire pit and living space. One or two sides are closed and the rest of the house is left open to take advantage of the breezes that cool the house and keep insects from congregating in them.
Schools in most of the villages have been built by the government and their concrete structures are an interesting contrast to the thatched roofs and the more organize feel of the Emberá houses.
The jaguar fruit is very important to the Emberá. It is an inedible fruit that’s pulp is used for making an indelible body paint that lasts up to 12 days. The paint is used for all their celebrations and each design has its own meaning, with age groups and genders assigned specific designs or patterns.
The Emberá produce really fine dugout canoes (piraguas) with very shallow bottoms that can be used even during the dry season when the rivers are low. The Panama Canal Authority employs Emberá craftsmen to make their canoes, which are used by Canal officials to reach the higher parts of the Canal’s watershed. The Emberá power their canoes with paddles, but the Canal officials have motorized their piraguas
Before they were introduced to guns the Emberá were experts at using the blowgun. They dipped the tips of their darts into lethal toxins from poison tree frogs and bullet ants. The Emberá’s lifestyle requires them to be very tough, but when you meet them, their smiles are genuine and warm and their children are friendly and fun-loving.
For many years, we have been involved with the La Paz Children's home. So, when the Our Bear Cares Committee agreed to sponsor my proposal for a volunteer paint party in January 2008, I was thrilled. In 2007, we provided new mattresses and bedding for the girl's dorm and our work party in January will allow us to finish off this project.
I was inspired by a similar project in Panama, where our crew and guests painted the school house at the Embera village that we visit.
The paint party is planned for January 18-20. We will spend all day on the 19th at the Children's home, painting and enjoying the company of the Padre and children. We'll also enjoy a barbeque lunch hosted by the children.
The work party is open to guests who will be cruising with us on the Spirit of Yorktown as well as non-cruisers who have a special interest in helping with this project. We have tried to keep the costs down to a minimum and are pleased to be offering this experience for $299 per person. To download the flier, with all of the details, click here.
April 1st was a big day here at Cruise West. Special, because it marked the official start of our spring cruising season. And for the first time in our history, we launched spring cruises on both coasts. On the East Coast, our Spirit of Nantucket greeted guests in Jacksonville, Florida for the first of five Antebellum South cruises. On the West Coast, our Spirit of Discovery boarded her guests in Portland, OR for the first of five Columbia & Snake River cruises.
Having sailed on our vessels for six years, I can say there there's no better feeling than that experienced during the first few minutes of boarding. Knowing that the crew is trained and excited about the upcoming season is as much fun as seeing the first smiles of guests as they walk up the gangway. Wondering what the summer will bring, what we will see, who we might meet and how we will change are all questions that we ponder. A single handshake and the first "hello" to each guest is a sincere and meaningful moment for each of us. Though I no longer sail on our ships, the thought of this single moment in time takes me right back to my cruising days.
Instead, I will wish each crewmember a season filled with meaningful experiences and pride in knowing that you're a part of something much bigger than yourself. Fulfilling our guest's dreams is a true pleasure and an experience that you will cherish. To all of our guests, I wish a travel experience filled the pleasure of soaking in the destination in the way that only Cruise West can deliver, but also with the pleasure of meeting our wonderful crew and knowing that you are the reason that they come to work every day.
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For many years, we have been involved with the La Paz Children's home. So, when the 
school house at the Embera village that we visit. 
April 1st was a big day here at Cruise West. Special, because it marked the official start of our spring cruising season. And for the first time in our history, we launched spring cruises on both coasts. On the East Coast, our 