Just think of a Safari ride and any thing can happen. (LOL) We traveled via dugout motorized leaking canoe, life jackets thru a tropical rainforest about one hour in to the Chagres National Park and then another 45 minutes to the Embera Puru Village, mesmerizing view. The village greeted us with traditional dancing and music. We learned about customs and their relationship with nature. Handcrafted available for sale. We were fed a traditional meal of fried fish and patacones. We had a chance to be painted with the temporary tattoo, a natural dye the Embera it used to keep mosquitos off the body. We listen to music and watch the women dance traditional shamanic dances and then we danced with the children and the women such fun. Last, an Elder took us on a short walk thru the Jungle to teach us about medicine plants. Modern toilets. This whole day was so much fun, I will never forget it, we learned about the culture, lifestyle and crafts of the Indians, "PRICELESS".

After riding in a canoe which was leaking (we did have life jackets), we got to a remote village. We were greeted by a few musicians and then sat for lunch. Lunch was provided by the cruise line, but the Indians made us tilipia and plaintain which was delicious. The entertained us with a great dance and their musicians with locally made instruments. It was an amazing day to see people who live without electricity or the whole electronic world that we have become accustomed to.

I booked a day tour with Garceth after reading reviews on Trip Advisor and through the Cruise Critic roll call for our cruise, was able to organize a group of 10. Garceth met us at the ship terminal in Colon at the arranged time holding a sign with my name on it. We got into a comfortable van and drove about 45 minutes to a tributary to Lago Alajuelar. Because it was the end of the dry season, we had to walk about 15 to minutes, basically in the river bed, to get to the waiting dugout canoes. There were 2 villagers in each canoe, one up front with a long pole and one in the back to operate the 15hp motor. Six of us were in one canoe and 4 of our group, plus Garceth, in the other. As the river level was so low, the villagers had to get out of the canoes numerous times to walk us over gravel bars (if they had kept the motors running they would have broken the shear pins that hold the prop to the motor shaft). It took about 1-1/2 hours in the canoes up the Rio San Miguel to get to the Embera village.
Pictures that others have posted are accurate. The villagers were friendly, the lunch was great and there are a lot of handicrafts available for purchase. The chief, although uneducated, is very intelligent. There was a presentation with a question and answer period. Garceth interpreted for us as the chief speaks Embera and Spanish, but, not English.
There was another small tour group at the village at the same time. A member of this other group is an anthropologist living in Fiji. I asked him if he thought this was authentic. He felt it was and the fact that they had some interactions with the outside world that generated some revenue was a good thing.
Overall, we spent about 2 hours or so at the village. We were concerned about the amount of time it would take to get back to the ship. As it turned out, the canoe ride was only about 45 minutes long as we were going downstream with the current. Consequently, if you are going on this excursion when the water levels are higher, there would be a significant reduction in the amount of travel time and there might not even be any hiking between the van and the dugout canoe.
It was a phenomenal trip. It was surreal that night at dinner in the main dining room on the Celebrity Equinox. Think about it, juxtaposing the elegance of a luxury cruise line dining room with a longhouse in a primitive village. Life is interesting.