WHAT’S IT LIKE TO LIVE WITH AN INDIGENOUS TRIBE IN PANAMA? ONE INTREPID TRAVELER SHARES HER EXPERIENCE
One of the main reasons people travel is to experience something new. Culturally immersive encounters and transformative trips that take us out of our comfort zone both enlighten us about the world and help us grow. Intrepid traveler and blogger at Girl In The City, Erica Olson, shares her experience living with an indigenous tribe in Panama, how it changed her and lessons learned.
1. IN PANAMA YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAY WITH AN INDIGENOUS TRIBE. WHAT WAS THE TRIBE, AND HOW DID YOU GET TO STAY WITH THEM?
I actually joined a non-profit organization that allowed me to travel for about six months in Central America. We spent about two weeks in Panama with the Ngabe Tribe, a diminishing indigenous tribe that has a language that is fast dying. A lot of the language is now mixed between Ngabe and Spanish. There are a lot of efforts to try to preserve the tribe and their values; however, they are integrated with a lot of modern culture. For example, the men wear standard Panamanian clothes, but the women still wear the traditional dress. The tribe is known for wearing bright clothing in different colors. We met an interpreter that was kind enough to take our traveling group to stay with them for two weeks. We had been going back in forth with him about it for weeks. They have really only let about two other groups visit them in the past, so it was a really rare experience. They want as little exposure to the outside world as possible. The truck ride alone up the mountain take[……]
