Getting to Majé
Tales & Traditions · Puerto Coquira → Majé
Getting to Majé
Pickup, then boat, then tide. The six-hour upriver trip to a Wounaan village in Panama's Darién.
Coconut soccer on the beach, while we wait for the tide.
Reaching the Wounaan village of Majé in the Darién isn't simple. Sometimes we travel by pickup truck. When the roads are too washed out, we take to the water.
Six hours upriver with Captain Jacobo
We meet Captain Jacobo in the fishing village of Puerto Coquira, a few hours from Panama City. From there it's a six-hour boat ride upriver. The boat from Majé meets us in Puerto Coquira with just enough fuel for the round trip, carried in plastic jugs, because there's no gas station waiting on the other end.
Timing is the whole game
If we reach the river mouth too late, the tide is too low to pass, and we wait up to 12 hours for it to rise again. So we plan ahead. If we're early, we wait anyway.
"If we're early, we wait anyway."
— Jen, RFB Woven ArtThe waiting becomes its own rhythm. Jacobo's kids kick off a game of coconut soccer on the beach. Others climb trees or dig their feet into the warm sand. The forest hums behind us. By the time the tide turns, the boat is quiet again, and we move upriver, the current softening as we near the village.
— Jen
Frequently asked questions
How do you get to Majé, the Wounaan village in the Darién?
Reaching Majé starts with a pickup truck from Panama City to Puerto Coquira, a fishing village a few hours east. From there it's a six-hour boat ride upriver. When the roads are too washed out, the whole trip is by water. The boat from Majé comes down to Puerto Coquira to meet you, carrying just enough fuel in plastic jugs for the round trip — there's no gas station upriver.
Why does the schedule depend on the tide?
The river mouth at Puerto Coquira is too shallow to pass at low tide. If you arrive at the wrong moment, you wait up to 12 hours for the tide to rise. If you arrive early, you wait anyway. Sourcing trips into the Wounaan villages of the Darién are planned around tide tables, not clocks.
Who is Captain Jacobo?
Captain Jacobo is the boat captain RFB Woven Art meets in Puerto Coquira on most river trips upriver to Majé. He works the route between the coast and the Wounaan villages, ferrying people, fuel, and goods. His kids tend to be on the beach during long tide waits, kicking around a coconut.
