Looking for a tour of the Embera Village - San Juan de Pequini

[the-Irish-one]

I will be in Panama in mid-December aboard a cruise ship and I am looking for a private tour of the above Embera Indian Village.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!!

 

Tom

[Richard in Panama]

I will be in Panama in mid-December aboard a cruise ship and I am looking for a private tour of the above Embera Indian Village.

 

Anne Gordon http://www.Emberavillagetours.com Anne is a Gringa who is married to an Embera man from this village. Interesting story of how they met, but they can tell you. They do tours to their village and that makes it extra special. Regards, Richard

[the-Irish-one]

Hi Richard,

 

There appears to be be three (3) docks in Cristobal - do you know which one MSC Divina will use?

 

Thanks, :)

 

Tom

[BillB48]

More than likely you will use the Colon 2000 facility when you are making a port call. Any reference to "Cristobal" just means they have not updated their material. The pier used in Cristobal for passenger ships has been demolished for a couple of years and now used only for container operations. There is another pier very close to the Colon 2000 facility but I think the only way you would dock there would be if there are two ships making port calls that day.

[GOLDENBONNY]

I will be in Panama in mid-December aboard a cruise ship and I am looking for a private tour of the above Embera Indian Village.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!!

 

Tom

 

Just my personal opinion :(. Village is very far from port . Traffic is bad +canoe trip. I would only book this excursion from cruise ship.

[the-Irish-one]

Just my personal opinion :(. Village is very far from port . Traffic is bad +canoe trip. I would only book this excursion from cruise ship.

 

What I heard from others is that the cruise ship tour to Embera Village is only to a "staged" Village and not the real deal. It is definitely a tourist trap - not an authentic village.

[Richard in Panama]

What I heard from others is that the cruise ship tour to Embera Village is only to a "staged" Village and not the real deal. It is definitely a tourist trap - not an authentic village.

 

Irish one - You must be talking with little people after a few pints . . . There are about 7 different Embera villages, each with 125-150 people, that are used for tours. There is also a demonstration-type village close in. Take a tour that includes a whole bunch of things, including an Embera Village, and it will be the touristy one. Of all the villages that are used San Juan de Pequini is the most authentic, but it is also one of the farthest out and a full day trip. Often the shore ex people don't have a clue as to which village they use. On their all-day Authentic Embera Village Tours Princess and Holland America generally use San Juan de Pequini, however at the end of the dry season, particularly in May, sometimes the river is too low for the boats to navigate and so they have to use another village. Anne Gordon, as I mentioned [http://www.Emberavillagetours.com] does do independent tours to San Juan de Pequini Embera Puru because that is where her husband's family life. You can help the ship shore ex people, who may not know to which village the tour is going, by asking, "How long is the canoe ride?" If it is 5 minutes, or 15 minutes you are going to one of the close in and IMHO less authentic villages. If it is 40-50 minutes you are likely going upriver to Embera Puru.

 

There is a great series of pictures on Flickr that were taken at Embera Puru which will help you decide if you want to take this excursion. There are great shots of the canoes, the height of the climb from the boats/river to the village, and the people.

 

REgards, Richard

[the-Irish-one]

Richard - I have a couple more questions:

 

1) what is the river like now? we will be in Cristobal on Tuesday, December 17th.

 

2) Do you know which "dock" MSC will use as Panama is not a normal stop for them.

 

3) We will be in port from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - I don't know if that is ship's time or local time and when we must be back on the ship --- with that said some of my fellow passengers are worried about making it back to the ship on time. Your thoughts?

 

4) If we book a "private tour" with Anne - will we still have a few minutes to shop for things like, local whole bean coffee?

 

Thanks,:):)

 

Tom

[Richard in Panama]

Richard - I have a couple more questions:

 

1) what is the river like now? we will be in Cristobal on Tuesday, December 17th.

 

2) Do you know which "dock" MSC will use as Panama is not a normal stop for them.

 

3) We will be in port from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - I don't know if that is ship's time or local time and when we must be back on the ship --- with that said some of my fellow passengers are worried about making it back to the ship on time. Your thoughts?

 

4) If we book a "private tour" with Anne - will we still have a few minutes to shop for things like, local whole bean coffee?

 

Thanks,:):)

 

Tom

 

Hey Tom! The river to Embera Puru should be no problem since this is the height of the rainy season and there is lots of water in the Canal, Gatun Lake, Madden lake and the river. Madden Lake or Lake Alajuela and Chagres National Park are all part of the Panama Canal watershed. If the water gets low in Gatun they pull water out of Madden Lake, sometimes several feet overnight, which especially during the dry season can cause the river to Embera Puru to drop. Not a problem in December. If fact the Canal problem sometimes is that there is too much water and they have to open the gates at Gatun Dam. More than you want to know, but interesting.

 

Docking in Colon there are only two cruise ship docks, Colon 2000 and Home Port which are almost next to one another. There are some touristy shops and a Super 99 supermarket there as well. You can also order some great coffee online - Boquete coffee like we grow from http://boquetepanamacoffee.com/. Sometimes on transit cruises between LA and Florida they will offer Cafe Britt for sale. It's actually a very good deal and includes shipment to your home in US or Canada. You can also order online from Cafe Britt. The best coffee in Panama is from Boquete, although in the store it isn't identified as such, just our local coffee. In Costa Rica the stuff in the grocery store isn't that great, but the really good stuff is Tarrazu and the price if you live in US or Canada is good. I grow coffee and whenever I'm on a ship stopping at Puntarenas my wife always has me bring home Tarrazu.

 

Anne and the other independent tour operators all understand the cruise schedules and frankly I've never hear of a tour independent tour operator not getting folks back on time. Sometimes happens on ship tours because the ship tour operators know the ship won't leave without them so they can cut it close. Independents know they need to have you back a bit early, and usually with vans they can take shortcuts around traffic on side streets that the big tour buses can't.

 

Have a great trip! Richard