An Embera Indian village
enters the tourist business

The enterprising son of the cacique (chief) of an Embera Indian Village on the Caribbean Coast, near Colon has convinced the elders to open the village to visitors.
Surrounded by virgin jungles, flanked by the Piedra River, in Costa Arriba to the east of Colón, Embera Errebachi Tulio Village, is now on the tourist map. The visitor will be able to see how these Indians live and at the same time discover the flora and fauna of the Caribbean coast.
This traditional village offers the tourist an alternative so he can experience the Embera customs, food and handicrafts without having to go to Darién, the main habitat of the Emberá.

Temporary tattoo
When you arrive at Embera Errebachi Tulio Village, which is only an hour and half away from Panama City, you will be welcomed with traditional music, and later on if you like, you can get a "jagua" done (temporary tattoos ) and buy handicraft.
They will serve you lunch maybe fish with roasted plantain, beef with "bollo"(a kind of corn dough pone) and "patachuma", a soup made with wild game.
You can swim in the river or watch games, such as archery. There are also tours on the Piedra River, with boats which will accommodate up to 15 people and from which you can spot wild life.

Camping too
The prices for the Embera experience are between $35 and $42 per person, depending on how long you stay in the village. There are also camping facilities for $55 per night which includes tent and various activities including snorkeling, tubing and kayaking.
To get to Embera Errebachi Tulio Village you must drive for 41 miles on the Trans-isthmian highway towards Colón, turn right when you arrive at Sabanitas, pass the beach of María Chiquita and turn when you see signs for Piedra River. Once there you will find the village.
Contact 6442-6918 or write tuliotours@gmail.com

The Embera are renowned for their exquisite hardwood carvings, and the carved Taguas or Ivory Nuts.

Their skilfully woven basketry is sought after and is featured in foreign museums.

Tourism Industry News

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Crowne Plaza Hotels in England have the recipe for a good night's sleep. In a study performed by the Crowne Plaza's parent corporation, IHG, they found that business travelers who check their emails at bedtime suffer the same effects as if they had taken a double espresso before going to sleep.

Tourism Booming in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica's 2007 tourism data is in, thanks to the Association of Tourism Professionals (ACROPROT) in the Central American nation. They broke all previous records, with over 1.9 million tourists entering the country, an 11.5% increase over 2006. A total of seven airlines began to offer flights, mostly on discount airlines, to the country's two airports in 2007 as well. Tourism remains Costa Rica's strongest industry.

New York City Relishes Weak Dollar
2007 was a record-breaking year for tourism in New York. A total of 46 million visitors spent $28 billion in New York last year. These are the largest numbers ever recorded in the Big Apple. Experts cite the weakening dollar as the main contributing factor for the increase.

Lost in Translation
The Municipal Bureau of Tourism in China is using humor to attract tourists. Direct translation of the names of menu items from Mandarin to English is the central theme for the ad campaign promoting the Summer Olympics. Exploding Flag Patty and Spaceship Rice, anyone?

Panama Leads region
in Cruises
Panama heads up the regional increase in cruise ship visits to Central America. The season lasts from October 2007 to May 2008. Panama reports a 33% increase largely due to the new home port in Colón. Costa Rica hopes to receive a 7.4% increase. Guatemala expects to round of the season with 51,000 tourists who will visit the Tikal Archaeological Park there.

Al Capone slept here
Take a cruise on the historic “Isla Morada”

Take a night cruise on Panama Bay aboard "Isla Morada", a vessel rich in nearly 100 years of history. Canal & Bay Tours recently acquired this charming ship for tours in the Canal and the increasingly popular Panama City night cruise, which offers spectacular views of the sparkling city skyline.
Before serving as a tourist boat the "Isla Morada" had a long and fascinating history which began in Boston. Made of wood by Lawley & Sons on the US east coast, the ship was launched in 1912 with the name Santana. It boasted five deluxe quarters, a grand dining room, library and a seven man crew. The "Isla Morada"´s long list of big-name owners includes the legendary Al Capone.
For it´s time, the ship incorporated some notable technological advances. Powered by a 1,000 horsepower gasoline engine and capable of wireless telegraph communication, the ship was requisitioned in the second world war by the US Marines. After the war, an owner from Florida baptized the ship for a second time with the name "Isla Morada".
In 1960 the ship came to Panama and was anchored in Bahia Piñas during the construction of Tropic Star Lodge, the world famous fishing resort. It later went on to fame as a passenger ferry between Panama City and Isla Taboga.
More recent owners remodeled the hull with fiberglass, conserving all the wooden and bronze charm of the original construction and interior. The current owners, Canal & Bay Tours offer visitors to Panama City a chance to board the historic boat and take an idyllic trip through the Panama Canal.
Visit
www.canalandbaytours.com or call 209-2009 or 209-2010.

Beso (The kiss) invites you to go to school in Bocas - Hop in a water taxi and experience tourism with a difference

Visitors come to Bocas for exciting surf, spectacular reefs, sun-drenched beaches, superb food, and funky nightlife. But if you're a tourist with a big heart you can enjoy a unique trip and help our children. Just ask a local water taxi driver to take you to visit one of the dozen or more primary schools in an outlying island village and see what you think would help make a difference in the education of the children there. You don't need to speak Spanish - smiles are universal and you'lI be welcomed like royalty. The kids are apt to see your boat coming and, they'll race ahead to announce the glorious news to their teacher: we've got a visitor!
Tell the teacher your name, where you're from, and ask if it is "okay" to visit ("okay" is a universal word.) you might take along some pencils, crayons, construction paper, a few bottles of glue, or even a big box of band-aids, a few boxes of raisins or some candy. Some of the teachers speak English or you can practice your Spanish.
The kids all study English in class- They'll get a big kick out of responding to "Good morning!" or "How are you?" or "What is your name?"
Take a look around and see how this school compares to the one where you went to grade school. You'll likely feel shocked when you realize all that is missing.
The Panamanian government makes a valiant effort to provide education for all children, but the topography of Bocas del Toro province makes it tough. Most outlying islands have no roads, no electricity, and no public water. While the government has managed to put schools in many of the small villages, funding has not kept up- Many teachers hold two sessions a day to accommodate the growing number of students, thus cutting the school day in half for the children and making really long days for themselves.
The majority of Bocatoreño families have a monthly income of less than $200, and that is only if the father can find full-time employment With four, five, or six school-age children, these families simply cannot afford what Panamanian law says all children must have to attend school: a uniform, shoes, school fees and supplies totaling about $100. Teachers in remote areas sometimes ignore these regulations, but too often the children stay home.
And in this island territory, continuing past primary grades to a secondary school becomes a matter of extreme effort. Secondary schools are almost as scarce as roads in the jungles. Only 10 or so of the dozens of children of age in the village of Buena Esperanza, for example, make the daily journey to attend seventh and eighth grade classes in the larger village of Shark Hole. About 11:00 am, these youngsters paddle their canoes across Dolphin Bay and hike for an hour over steep jungle trails. These determined kids make the return trek, rain or shine, arriving home after 6:00 p.m.
And what about colegio, or what in other places is called high school? The Province's colegios are located only in bigger towns like Changuiola and Almirante on the mainland or in Bocas Town on Isla Colon. Thus, in addition to new school fees, new uniforms, and enormous transportation costs, the child needs room and board during the week as the distances are simply too great for a daily commute. Not many families can manage such exorbitant expenses, even for very bright and deserving children.
And what can you do about these immense problems? Start by looking for the very basics at the school you are visiting. Make notes of what you see - or, as is more likely, what you don't see. And then when you go back home, ask for help from your family and friends, your co-workers, the members of your church - from anyone who will stand still long enough for you to tell them what you saw. And give them the website for BESO:
www.bocasbeso.info
BESO (which in Spanish means "kiss") is the Bocas Educational Service Organization. Strictly a non-profit organization, BESO has built new classrooms, painted and repaired desks, built sanitary water collection systems, installed chalkboards, put first aid kits in primary schools, put books in classrooms and on library shelves, paid for internet service at a high school, provided schol-arships for deserving students to pursue higher education, bought dozens of school uniforms and supplies for needy children, built lunch areas and teachers' residences.... And the list goes on.
Send your photos and comments to BESO at bocasbeso@yahoo.com for
inclusion on the BESO website at www.bocasbeso.info.
Ask your friends family and acquaintances for donations to BESO. It is simple to make a donation using Paypal. If you wish, you can ask them to target their donation for the school you visited. You can leave more than footprints to show for your visit: you can make the difference in the future of the islands' beautiful children.

The school you discover will not be like the one where you went to
grade school