Passage to Panama
Guiding Sincere People to this Cultural Destination
Open to All Ages, Families, and Special Groups
Open Dates and Schedules for all Nov/Dec 2008
"In Honor of the Peace & Dignity Journeys 2008 Sacred Run across Turtle Island"

Click HERE for Frequently Ask Questions

As Indigenous people traditionally did, we travel to exchange and gather knowledge at the center of “The Americas." Winged creatures and mammals of the sea continue to gather at the center of the continent—also known as “Turtle Island.” On our fifth Tribal Exchange trip to Panama, YNS and InterTribalYouth.org will visit three sovereign Tribal Reservations where Tribal people continue to live in the most natural environments and care for majestic green rainforests and the habitats along the Caribbean Sea. Our travels allow us to leisurely learn as we experience lessons in culture, sovereignty, ecology, and economic sustainability.

Day 1 Arrival: We’ll fly over the Gulf of Mexico, the Mayas, and Cortez’s old stomping grounds, toward the Caribbean Sea and along the spine of mother earth.  We continue along the ridges of volcanoes, over Costa Rica and above the fertile land known as Turtle Island arriving in Panama —the “Bridge of the Americas.” We take time to rest our wings. Known as the “safest city” in Latin America, Panama’s friendly city people welcome you in Spanish, English, Creole, Island English, Chinese and Indigenous Dialects. This is where World Trade Routes were realized and where Balboa Vasquez Nuñez / Panama American World Fair, inspired San Diego’s Balboa Park on the grounds of the Kumeyaay Villages to the North.

Day 1, 2: We spend our first two nights in local mountains, 20 minutes from the airport at a small bed and breakfast in El Cerro Azul (Blue Mountains). We  are given time to rest and unwind, before embarking upon hikes in the mountains where rainforests, waterfalls, monkeys, sloths, and toucans abound. The world’s largest list of birds is documented in Panama, and it continues to grow. Like many Panamanians around the canal area, our hosts are Panamanian of Jamaican and Mestizo decent. The Afro-Caribbean Culture is dominant in the heavily populated areas of Panama City and Colon.

Day 3, 4:  With the Wounaan/Embera “Healing People” of the Darien Province.
Exploring the waterways and most pristine rainforests in the world, our group will meet Native relations on the isthmus bridge of the Americas. A healing people, Wounann/Embera, also known as Choco, have survived and maintained their culture and traditions despite the colonialism. Life will unfold in its most natural state and purest form in these sacred lands.  After a short bus ride, we will travel by dugout boats through the rivers and rainforest to exchange cultural presentations and engage in discussions with three Embera Communities. The community is looking to make connections in sustainable tourism and trade, and together we can explore possible avenues toward that goal.

Day 5, 6, 7: Nobe Bugle of Bocas del Toro, Caribbean Sea
A short flight from the Pacific over the Bridge of the Americas and the Panama Canal takes us to Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean Sea. This large archipelago, shaped like the “mouth of the bull,” gives life to mountains, rivers, jungles, clear green-blue waters, palmed beaches and mangrove habitats. This is the land of plenty, paradise, pirates and Christopher Columbus’s ghost. Our Tribal contacts, left alone for hundreds years since the Spanish and British first contact with the original plantation owners. Now widely known for world-class waves, snorkeling and culture, this pristine area is paradise, naturally. We take a boat ride around the island and through the mangroves, visiting descendents of Dine-Mexica-ancestors who migrated to safety here and mixed cultures to create Afro-Caribbean-Indian villages. We’ll visit native-plant organic farms and gardens and sample organic solutions to life and liberty. After our respectful Cultural Exchange and discourse is complete, we take a short flight back to Panama City.

Day 8: Panama City
Here we have time to tour around Panama City, the famous Panama Canal and take the opportunity to meet with the Harpy Eagle Conservation Team. There is also an option to visit the Smithsonian or to visit any of the wonderful world-class restaurants or shopping malls.

Day 9, 10: Archipelago of San Blas, also known as Kuna Yala, Caribbean Sea:
A model of Sovereignty and Autonomy, Kuna Yala People hold it down on the colors of the Caribbean, which are highlighted inthe traditional textiles of las molas. This is the safe zone of the Caribbean; Panama’s coast is hurricane free. San Blas / Kuna Yala is a sacred paradise, as visitors must receive permission to enter this territory. We have built a good relationship with the Native people of this community, and they open their houses, tribal councils and traditional ways to us. We share with them the calm, comforting blue waters of the Caribbean Sea—Earth’s nourishing swimming pool—and trade stories about our ancestral roots. Cultural Presentation and discourse are shared here at this UNESCO “World Heritage” Site.

Day 11:  We travel back to our departure point in Panama City and take time for Reflections—of self, land, people and feathered ones who have stepped before us. We pack our belongs, newfound knowledge and friendships and anticipate re-uniting with our loved ones on the flight back home.

Cost: Program cost of $1700. All lodging, meals, and in-country transportation, fights, water tours, etc is included in the program cost. Airfare to Panama not included.

Application Deadline and Eligibility
Applications must be received before July 20, 2008 for the August Trips. Space is limited, so please register early. If an invitation letter is needed to assist you with your fundraising or you have questions about late registration, please call: 760-301-0992.
Participation is open to any individual 9th grade and up including students, family, siblings, teachers, or community members with a desire to learn and enthusiasm for adventure.

To learn more about Panama and its people before arriving, the links below will provide some starting points:

New Exhibit and education opening up at San Diego’s Museum of Man.
http://www.museumofman.org/html/exhibits_kuna.html#arts
And   http://www.museumofman.org/html/exhibits_passage.html

http://www.visitpanama.com/engl/index.asp
http://www.photoatlas.com/pics/pictures_of_panama_nature.html
http://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/embera/emberafr.htm

http://gpsinformation.us/CentralAmerica/17-embera/Embera-g.html
http://www.jpsviewfinder.com/travel/country/panama/
http://web.idrc.ca/es/ev-55583-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

* Daily itinerary subject to change.

Highlights

Caribbean Island Boat Tours
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Snorkeling
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Rainforest Walks
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Cloud Forest 2-night stay
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Panama Canal and City Tour
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Nature and Wildlife Observation
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Ecology
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Sovereignty
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Cultural Education with Tribal People of: Embera Wounaan, Kuna-Yala, Nobe Bugle