Rio Sierpe

Was another early rising day. Waldin drove the quad with the little trailer up the hill and hauled all of our luggage down to the car. We ate a quick breakfast, said our farewells then hit the long winding dirt road back out of Bahía Drake. With a watchful eye one can still spot a wild animal or two while navigating the steep climbs and drops of the curvy jungle track.

After a short stretch along the Costanera Sur, the paved highway from Panama to Jaco, we came to the turn off to the Rio Sierpe. Palm country, the dominion of American banana republicanism. Old wooden row houses surround central grass common areas and palmeros still haul the palm oil berries to the rendering plant with ox and water buffalo pulled carts.

It wasn’t long before we arrived in the small pueblo of Sierpe, the “Heart of the South”. Jorge was ready for us after Rolando’s call and we were set up with a private mangrove tour guided by an older carajo named Carlos. Our boat driver was Antonio, a younger guy who turned out to have better eyesight than our guide.

We started down river a bit where we saw birds, crocodiles and a few turtles. Antonio finessed us through a shallow canal where we came close to scraping the bottom. More birds and a few basilisk lizards. Water hyacinths floated in rafts upon the river making Antonio dodge the small drifting islands while still looking for animals.

Antonio was spotting the majority of the wildlife. I think the only reason he was driving instead of guiding is his lack of English proficiency. He did the discovering and Carlos did the talking. We reversed course and headed back up river past the docks and the ferry that brings you across the river to the rugged back way into Drake. A big crocodile was basking along the bank, a good 10 footer.

The underlying backdrop of the reserve in Sierpe is old palm plantations and cultivated bamboo. The secondary forest has grown up around them, overshadowing the palms but the bamboo has grown wild in some areas and is a haven for white faced monkeys, the capuchins. We came upon a huge group They were playing around, wrestling and chasing each other from tree to tree. We parked the boat and watched for a while. Awesome stuff. Carlos gave the monos a hardy “adios amigos” and we turned the bow back towards the docks. Antonio picked up the pace and the cooling wind blew in our sunburned faces. A fun few hours out on the river.

We had lunch at Jorge’s restaurant La Perla del Sur. He’s kind of like the Sierpe godfather. He has the biggest tour company, the restaurant where the boats ferry people to and from Drake, the hotel and a hand in most else that goes on in town. With full bellies and the early morning start, PJ had all it took to keep her eyes open as she drove us out to the highway and towards points north.