La Palma – Sambu - By boat ^53
Initial information was that the boat to Sambu was in two days. Still, at the slipway,
one got the impression there could be a boat that very day. Someone once said the
service in Sambu was “as slow as molasses” and I couldn’t think of a better
description. There was little else to do but hang around, watching boats come and
go.
Eventually, a boat appeared, and we flew across the Gulf de San Miguel at
breakneck speed on an open speedboat. At the same time, brown pelicans and
shearwaters drifted effortlessly above. The Gulf was scenic and peppered with tiny
islands.
Soon after setting out, the boat turned up the River Sambu and, after two hours,
arrived at the little settlement of Sambu, home to the Embera and Cimarrones.
Interestingly enough, these were people of African descent whose ancestors
escaped the slave trade by living in the jungle. Sambu was situated deep in the
forest, and one would never have spotted it without getting off the boat.
Albeit tiny, the settlement was considered substantial for the Darien as it had a
payphone, landing strip, clinic and school. The centre of the village was a large,
shady mango tree where everyone gathered. If wanting to contact anyone in the
community by phone, the payphone was the number to dial, and anyone in the
vicinity of the phone would answer.
The landing strip was the single paved road in the area, and where kids rode their
bikes and lovers took a stroll in the evening. Ernest and I overlooked the action
from our little veranda, and I was pretty happy being there. Watching the activities,
I realised that although the Embera people lived in reed huts on high stilts, cooked
on open fires and wore traditional clothes, they were no different from city folk.