After a beautiful morning whale-watching in the Chiriqui National Marine Park in Boca Chica, Panama it was time to hit the road and head to our next stop: Bonyic Naso Indigenous Community in the Bocas del Toro Province of Northwestern Panama. 

As one of seven indigenous tribes in Panama – the smallest and one of the last monarchies in the Americas- the Naso have fought for their lives, their land, and their culture for hundreds of years, facing continual threats and persecution by other tribes, big business, and even their government. After decades of protest, in 2020, the Naso were finally granted the return of some of their ancestral land in the formation of their comarca (semi-autonomous Indigenous region), which includes the biodiverse La Amistad Biosphere Reserve (Central America’s largest intact rainforest).  Yet, decades of little opportunity have meant this tiny tribe of only 3500 remaining members are being forced to move away from the comarca, threatening what they value most, their cultural identity as a tribe. 

Riding a traditional bamboo raft down the Teribe River is one of many fun experiences offered by the Naso tribe’s community tourism initatives

I spent two days visiting three of the eleven communities of the tribe and it was one of the most meaningful experiences I had in two weeks in Panama. One of the most special parts of my trip happened the very first night. Here is the story.

We left Hotel Bocas del Mar a little after one o’clock with our gregarious guide Gill from Step by Step Travel, who would be driving us all across the highlands of Panama from the Pacific coast in Chiriqui to the town of Changuinola.

The drive was laborious and long as we passed through the coffee-growing region of Boquete in the heart of the highlands, driving through curvy roads in the pouring rain. We didn’t arrive at our meeting point in Changuinola until well after dusk, where our new guide, Max Williams, was waiting for our arrival in his shiny silver pick-up truck.

We were exhausted after such a long, eventful day, yet Max’s charismatic charm and the promise of having a homemade dinner at his parents’ home on the farm kept our adrenaline going. It was another hour drive to reach his home in Soposo, a small indigenous community located on the banks of the Teribe River in Northwestern Panama. During the drive, Max told us about his path to becoming a guide – one of the first Naso guides is his community. 

Since becoming a professional guide in 2016, Max has continued to mentor young members of his tribe and train them to become guides. It is his way of giving back to his culture and keeping some of its traditions alive.

“I want to show the younger generation what is possible. You don’t have to leave our community in search of a better life. As a guide, I work for myself and have been able to earn a good income and become successful”, Max tells us with a wry smile.  His passion for his home and culture was contagious. I could hardly wait to spend the next two days in his community. 

Photo of Max leading us up the Teribe River (on day two of our visit)

It was well after sunset when we arrived in Soposo.  As we started our walk through pitch black darkness dollops of rain poured down from the sky.  We continued slowly into the depths of the jungle, following only a beam of light from our guide Max’s cell phone. “Shh…” Max said, suddenly stopping still in his tracks. Was it a coatimundi or worse, a jaguar? “Look here, up in the tree,” Max beckoned as he gently flashed his light upon the vibrant green skin of a red-eyed tree frog. “They’re nocturnal,” Max said, “one of the many species of frogs you will find in the comarca and on our farm. If you are lucky, I will show you a glass tree frog after dinner”. 

Max Williams, one of the only indigenous guides from his tribe, the Naso, was bringing me and fellow traveler Laura to his family’s home for dinner. Max’s grandmother founded Soposo almost 100 years before, as one of the first from her tribe to come down from the high jungle where the Naso had been hiding for almost 300 years since colonization. Now his mother and father continue to run the family farm, along with the other tribal members who have chosen to stay.  

At the farmhouse, we met Max’s mother, Virginia, who, despite her small size and gentle disposition, shared her powerful story of perseverance and courage as one of the Naso women who fought for the rights and safeguarding of their ancestral land. Her voice was permanently damaged by years of protest but never silenced.

Max’s parents

“For hundreds of years we’ve fought for our land, our culture and our traditions. We are finally legally the rightful owners,” Virginia told us while she poured us a cup of almond chocolate tea. “The pain is enduring of how our tribe was treated during colonization, and the pain is still here today. Our people feel it. It is a constant fight but there is hope and opportunity now with the start of community tourism”.

She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes, “And it starts with this dinner we are sharing tonight, and the stories I will tell so you can see that while we live in different parts of the world, our hopes and dreams for our children and future generations are the same”. 

While Virginia prepared our meal of freshly caught fish (by Max that same morning), sauteed in garlic cream sauce, she told us about Max’s childhood.  “When the boys were little, day-to-day life was beautiful but hard. We didn’t have a shower, so I used to walk my four boys down to the river to bathe. They loved it and would have played for hours if I’d let them. But we had work to do.”

It was also hard for her to educate her boys. But education was something that she believed in and always reinforced how important it was for them to go to school. Back then, there was no bridge over the Teribe River; it took hours to get to and from school. Virginia would leave with the boys, flashlight in hand, and they would walk for two hours to get to school, through mud and the rapid currents of the river, holding hands. Yet she knew it was even harder for the other Naso communities further upstream who had no roads (and still don’t), meaning the walk to school took all day.

Even today there are no bridges and you have to walk through the river to get to the other side

While the three older brothers left the community in search of a better life, Max chose to stay behind and became a guide. While he is not always working in his community (he travels all over Panama as a guide), when he is around he works hard by taking in other young guides to help show them the way forward.

“Community tourism is the only way to preserve this community since it is so isolated and there is such a lack of opportunity and jobs,” Max tells me over dinner. His face has become solemn. “Tomorrow we are going to my mother’s home town, a community called Siekin that takes an hour to get to on a small motorboat upriver”. Before motor boats, it could take all day reaching these communities by bamboo raft. And even today, some of the families in the most remote regions of our comarca have to walk hours through the jungle to get to school. “Add in the challenge of getting services and goods to and from the city, and life becomes very hard” Max explains. “Tomorrow you will see tomorrow during your visit, the possibility that grassroots community tourism has to offer”.

Today most people use boats like this with motors to get to the communities upriver but it still takes awhile.

It has been a little over ten years since a grassroots community tourism, women-led community tourism initiative called the Posada Medialuna opened their doors to tourism with the community’s first lodge. Others such as Max’s mother Virginia also have opened their homes to tourism. But much more needs to be done to further develop tourism in this area especially the remote regions that are only accessible by boat.

When asked Virginia what her thoughts were on community tourism, she looked us in the eyes and gave us a huge, heartwarming smile:

“I think that tourism to our community has been beautiful because it has allowed people to come here and not take away, but to learn about our culture and our community. To not extract things from us but to appreciate and respect our unique culture and land. When people stay for two or three nights and spend time with me and talk with me, we create an unforgettable memory.”

The next day, learning how to make traditional chocolate with the Naso community

And I could not agree more. It was a magical experience that I feel so fortunate to have had. The next morning we would be visiting Virginia’s home village where we would spend the entire day with the Naso community. I could hardly wait.

If you go:

Tours and visits to the Naso Community can be arranged with Step by Step Travel.  Recommended to stay at least a night or two. Step by Step can then drop you off at the port to Bocas del Toro islands or your next destination.