THE EMBERA PEOPLE
In 2004 while on assignment in Panama I made plans to travel upstream on the Bayano River in the eastern part of the country with the intent to visit a village of the Emberá People, an indigenous group that live in Panama and Colombia . After a short distance our motored canoe turned onto a tributary of the Bayano and after 40 minutes we reached the settlement. We spent the afternoon with the elders and children as they danced ceremoniously for us, shared their local food and hosted us in their thatched homes. As dusk approached we boarded the canoes and began our trip back down the river to our jeeps.