Rio Sucio I

Tags: Darien, Panama, Rio Sucio, Rio Tuira, sailing

Date: January 17, 2023

After staying a while on the Balsas River, it was time to head out again. We went downriver towards the Gulf of San Miguel where most of the rivers of Darien meet the ocean. On the way we passed Chepigana which is a small settlement on the Tuira River:

Close to the end of the river, we passed La Palma, which is the capital of the Darien Province:

La Palma has a population of around 4,200 people and is connected by road to some nearby settlements, but not to the main part of Panama.

Another view of the large Tuira River with the hills of Darien in the background:

Instead of heading out to the ocean, we anchored and the next day we went up another river, the River Sucio and anchored halfway up the river. At the end of that river there is a small settlement and here some of the locals are passing us:

If you look closely you can see the guy in the front is filming us.

The Sucio River is a great place for exploration by dinghy. Here, some American white ibis and a little blue heron in the back are looking for food at low tide:

This was our first small dinghy trip on this river and we did it shortly before sunset:

Some tracks in the mud:

Leading to this place:

It must be the home of a decent sized American crocodile.

Small kingfishers are common among the mangroves. This is either an Amazon kingfisher or a green kingfisher (right in the middle of the picture):

This is probably a juvenile little blue heron:

The rivers are connected by a maze of small tributaries and side rivers:

An Amazon or green kingfisher looking into the water:

Then it dives:

Coming up again with a small fish in its beak:

Sitting on a branch with the wiggling fish:

The fish has been swallowed: