21 May 2007 - Gas for a dugout canoe is $4 a gallon!

I had to buy gas today for a dugout canoe. $4 a gallon.

I did have a wonderful adventure today. We drove two hours or so out of the city and headed into the area of Panama called "The Darien" It is famous for the impenetrable jungles that stopped the Colombian army and forced the dead end of the Pan American highway.

We got almost to the end of the highway as the road gets worse the further in you go. Then we got into a dugout canoe and cruised down an enormous lake made when the gov damned up the river. I'm sorry I will have to get back to you with the names.

The lake is studded with bony white dead trees that have been sticking up out of the water for 35 years. But it is stocked with Tilapia and some long green things swimming in the water the natives call Cocodrillos.

We rode on the lake for two hours until we saw a small dark opening. That was the mouth of the river. We entered the green tunnel and it was like being on a different planet, a world of green jungle, colorful birds, steep cliffs and exotic sounds when we stopped. Along the way we could see thatched roof huts and the dark skinned Embera Indians. They'd just stand there and watch us, silently, motionless, as we rode by. What they must have been thinking, "There goes the neighborhood."

At the end of the river, where it became rapids and too shallow for us to continue, we got out, climbed up the steep river bank and met the chief, his wife, kids, dogs and neighbors. These are nice Indians. They don't take hostages, they don't take prisoners, but they do take Visa and Master Card.

They were selling hand crafts. The stone age is over. These are Vinyl Age Indians, hawking beaded garments, head bands and such. I offered to buy one of the beaded breast drapes the women wear to cover themselves, but they weren't selling. One woman offered to make me one. How much I asked? $60 was the answer. $60 bucks! She must have taken basic training at the Pink Pussycat. Sorry, you don't have my size.

Then back into the dugout and down the river, did I mention the crocodiles. Well, they have them. 18 feet long, green and growing. I thought we should have brought them some chicken. I'll bet five bucks worth of chicken would yield fifteen bucks worth of fun. They were not amused.

This being the rainy season, we eyed the gathering storm clouds as we were heading back to base. Several times we were totally surrounded by rain, lightning strikes and thunder, but all we got was sun burnt. I'll settle for that.