Question about excursion in Panama Canal

[twotennesseans]

We are doing our first Panama Canal cruise in Dec. of this year. DH and I have been looking at the excursions. We would really like to do the Embera Indian Village, seems that there are only two of them. One is using a canoe, which states that when you get in and out of the canoe the ground can be very unstable as it’s sedimentary. The other is walking up 40 steps on handmade logs. I would like opinions on these as to how strenuous they really are. I have had previous knee replacement in left leg and the right knee is not so good. I can walk, and climb steps,(just a little slow). Thank you in advance for your help.

If anyone has any recommendations on excursions here we are open to suggestions as well :-)

 

 

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[easyboy]

You can also post on the Panama Canal Port of Call Forum for more recommendations on shore excursions.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?89https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?89

 

 

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[skynight]

We are doing our first Panama Canal cruise in Dec. of this year. DH and I have been looking at the excursions. We would really like to do the Embera Indian Village, seems that there are only two of them. One is using a canoe, which states that when you get in and out of the canoe the ground can be very unstable as it’s sedimentary. The other is walking up 40 steps on handmade logs. I would like opinions on these as to how strenuous they really are. I have had previous knee replacement in left leg and the right knee is not so good. I can walk, and climb steps,(just a little slow). Thank you in advance for your help.

If anyone has any recommendations on excursions here we are open to suggestions as well :-)

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It rains a lot in Panama. When we went to the Embera village a bus dropped us off on a kind of a lake beach. The canoes are dugouts with a motor. The Embera pull the canoe up onto the beach and you enter it from the bow, walk back to your seat. They are there to help you. They bring you up river to their village. You again exit onto a beach. It can be muddy and was when we were there. As I said, it rains a lot. There were some log stairs to get to the village area. We enjoyed it a lot. They put on a nice show, provided us with some nice food, and sold some local crafts.

This is not too strenuous, but it can be unstable getting into and out of the canoe, and there can be mud which requires some stability.

Something interesting. The children take the canoes each day just as you will. They are picked up by the school bus near the beach to go to school. After school they have to take the canoes to get back home.