Darién, Panama

Darién, Panama - May1 to May 8 with Canopy Camp

When you tell people that you are going to the Darien in Panama you are met with either blank stares, or looks of horror or at a minimum looks questioning our sanity.

Where in the world is the Darien and what is it? Well, it is located in the humid lowlands of far eastern Panama, near the end of the Pan-American Highway. The Pan-American Highway, runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, except for a section of impassible jungle between Central & South America of approximately 100 km (60 mi), called the Darién Gap.

It is an area filled with exotic plants, rare wildlife, 3 different indigenous groups (Kuna, Emberá, and Wounaan) and dangerous paramilitary groups. The Darien rainforest is a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The border is protected by Senafront which isn’t a military organization but considered police, as Panama does not have a military. However when you see them they all wear camouflage uniforms and carry large automatic weapons. Their training facility it next to one of the ponds where we go birding in Panama City.

Now the other side of the coin is the notorious Colombian FARC anti-government guerrillas. There are  many checkpoints on the road into the Darién since the Panamanian Government is trying to re-claim the jungle from smugglers and paramilitary groups.

OK, all that said we are visiting this bio-diverse area with a well-known birding company called Canopy. They have 4 different locations here in Panama and people come from all over the world to bird with their reputable guides. One is located in El Valle and 2 are in the Gamboa Rainforest area. They now have one in the Darién called Darién Camp and we will be staying in custom-designed African safari-style tents with all the amenities they  offer at their other eco-lodges.  It is situated next to the protected forest of the Filo del Tallo Hydrological Reserve (65,000 acres). So, we will be roughing it in style and they have secured all of the proper permissions to visit the area.

We will leave on Sunday and stay at the Riande Hotel. Early the next morning we will begin the long drive (around 5 hours) birding our way down and stopping for lunch. We will return next Sunday.

We are hoping to find some new birds as there are many that only live in the Darién. I doubt I will have sufficient time or internet to update this blog day by day, so it will probably be updated after we return.

Later......