Kayaking Adventures in San Blas , Guna Yala

The Natural and Cultural Heritage of Kuna Yala

Guna Women

In close collaboration with Kuna authorities and under organized community managed sustainable tourism development frameworks, we’ll use our stable sea kayaks to explore the islands West of the traditional community of Digir. It was here where several important actions of the Kuna Revolution took place in 1925, resulting in law 16 of 1954 by the Republic of Panama that guarantees the Kuna their sovereignty and territorial boundaries.

A detailed study in 2003 by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Kuna NGO, PEMASKY; showed that Kuna Yala has the highest diversity of coral species as well as the best reef development in all of Panama. We will become intimately familiar with them as our Kuna guides paddle with us between several different small white sand islands, where the greatest snorkeling is right outside your tent. The cultural interaction on this journey is unprecedented. The itinerary will remain flexible, to take into account weather conditions, currents and tides, and we expect an occasional non-paddling day to provide ample opportunity for exploratory hikes – bring good walking shoes for pristine forest creek bed trekking!

What to Bring to this Kayaking adventure:

• Binoculars
• Camera with extra batteries
• Flashlight with extra bulb & batteries
• Hat, day pack
• Dry sack
• Water bottles
• Lightwight/quick dry cotton clothes
• Windbreaker, rain gear
• Sandals, sneakers, hiking shoes
• Money in small denominations
• Toiletries & personal medications
• Snorkeling equipment
• Bathing suit
• Insect repellent
• sunscreen

EcoCircuitos Video

Kayaking in the Rainforest

By Meret Schueschke

Last week I got the chance to do something I had wanted to do for quite a while: To go kayaking in the rainforest with EcoCircuitos. It was going to be my first real rainforest experience, and I was really looking forward to it, but the real experience exceeded my expectations by far.

After less than an hour we arrived at Gamboa, where we were supposed to start off our kayaking excursion. While our guide and driver got the equipment ready we strolled around, had peeks into the butterfly house and aquarium they have there, and already spotted the first birds.

And then, we started out onto the lake. The cries of howler monkeys greeted us, accompanied by the distant sound of drumming that came from the Embera Village further down the shore. Along with wisps of mist hanging between the trees and the soft dripping of water from the paddles, this sound created a truly unreal experience. One of our little group described it very accurately when he said: “I could almost imagine KingKong coming out of this forest right now”

The next hours were an almost meditative experience. We spotted uncountable amounts of birds: since the kayaks make almost no sound passing through the water, you can get really close to animals as long as you don’t talk too much.

Before too long, the thatched roofs of the Embera village appeared between the trees, and by a stroke of luck we got to witness a short musical performance of the men of the tribe, as they were just receiving a group of visitors when we passed by.

I was  already feeling  like I had completely left the normal world behind, and then, weirdly enough, it got perfect when it started to rain. It had been a hot day so far, and the soft summer rain was so refreshing, and it changed the atmosphere into something almost magical. There was steam rising from the trees around us, the birds and monkeys seemed to wake up, like us being revived by that burst of fresh air the rain brought, and suddenly it was just us, the water, and the rainforest around us, and the real world so far away…

At some point we spied the howler monkeys, high up in a tree, another time we passed a large iguana. Eagles, herons, kingfishers and many more crossed our paths. Fish passed silently beneath us. We were silent, mostly, enjoying the tranquility of this spot we had all to ourselves, each taking in this different world for himself.

The three hours passed far too quickly, and all too soon we had to head back to the shore, and then to the city with all its activity…but the feeling of tranquility I had experienced there on the lake stayed with me for several days, and I am sure I will not forget this special feeling of being out on in this primeval forest so far from everyday life, and yet so close to home.

if you would like to know more about this or other rainforest tours, have a look at our website

Marriott Announces New Property on Panama’s Pacific Coast for 2013

Panama City, Panama – July 11, 2011 — Marriott Hotels & Resorts announced plans in Panama City to develop the 180-room Casamar Marriott Panama Resort within the Casamar master-planned resort community on Panama’s Pacific coast.  The five-star resort, under a franchise agreement with Casamar Development, S.A. and Corporación Turística del Pacífico, S.A., will open in 2013 and be a significant addition to Panama’s Pacific beachfront resorts.   Marriott Hotels & Resorts is the signature brand of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR), with more than 500 hotels in 54 countries.

The Casamar Marriott Resort will be situated on the beach, near the town of San Carlos, approximately 55 miles from Panama City.  The Casamar community will include a number of condominium and villa clusters, tropical gardens and walking trails, freestanding restaurants, retail units, a sports club and a beach club.  Panama’s Pacific Coastline, traditionally a weekend retreat for wealthy Panamanians, is quickly developing into resort destination with the development of quality resort hotels, and from 2002 to 2010, tourist visitation to the area more than doubled, to 1.7 million.

he Casamar Marriott Panama Resort will offer 180 guest rooms in a series of interconnected buildings surrounding the hotel’s public and recreation areas, which include a large free-form swimming pool and extensive deck areas. The hotel will also have two restaurants, two bars, extensive meeting space, retail outlets and a full-service spa.  The project architect will be Zurcher Architects, whose work includes the Bristol Buenaventura Resort, as well as all the Marriott Hotels & Resorts and JW Marriott properties in Costa Rica – the Costa Rica Marriott in San Jose, Marriott Los Sueños Ocean & Golf Resort, and the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa.

Panama Panorama 5 days adventure from $485.00

Embera Indian from Chagres National Park

5 Days / 4 Nights

A city tour featuring Panama City’s best attractions; you will spend a day Kayaking the Panama Canal and will visit the Miraflores Locks.  You will also be part of a National Geographic type adventure while visiting the Embera community from Chagres National Park.  This is a perfect package to be combined with a stay in Costa Rica or as an extension to any of the country’s beach destinations.   For complete program and prices please contact us at info@ecocircuitos.com

Panama Expedition 7 day adventure from $740.00

Experience the contrasts of Panama in this great itinerary, which combines historical tours, rainforest, paddling the Canal´s Gatun Lake surrounded by tropical rainforest, 2 nights in El Valle mountain town at Los Mandarinos SPA and lodge and a beach tour at the Pacific side of Panama with an option of a surfing class. For complete information and complete itinerary please contact us at info@ecocircuitos.com