The Legend of La India Dormida
Panama Travelog #13
El Valle, Panama - Tue, 24 Dec 2024. 12:30pm.
After the one hike we were able to do this morning, at Chorro Macho falls, we came back through town to get lunch. I was still fuming about the two hikes we were not able to do but tried not to let my frustration drag me down too much. After all, there are still other worthy things to do here in Anton's Valley. We used lunchtime as downtime to review our plans and see what we could pull forward.
It helped that the sun starting poking out from behind the clouds. It was the first time in almost 24 hours we'd seen it! I'd been fretting, among other things, that we were doomed to have nothing but gloom and rain for our 9 days here in Panama.
"Let's hike La Dormida," I suggested.
"We could do that tomorrow, and get an early start. It might be too late today-" Hawk responded.
"Let's hike while sun is shining!" I interrupted.
Okay, so what is La Dormida? It's kind of a Romeo and Juliet story... if Romeo and Juliet also involved a mountain.
The Legend of La India Dormida
A legend from the time of the Spanish conquest in Panama tells of La Dormida, or The Sleeping (Native) Girl. Luba, a young woman, the younger daughter of the local chief, fell madly in love with one of the Spanish soldiers subjugating her people. But a young man, Yaravi, a brave warrior of her own people, was madly in love with her. Yaravi was so distraught over what he saw as Luba's betrayal (to himself and to their people) that he took his own life. When Luba learned of this she reconsidered her actions and was filled with regret. She renounced her love for the Spanish soldier and ran off into the woods. Exhausted, she lay on the ground, then died. The mountains took the form of her body.
The legend is explained on a sign at the trailhead on the edge of town. Along with it are these two pictures. Above is a view of the mountain from (I think) down here in the valley. You can kind of see the supine human form in it: head to the right, neck in the middle, chest and abdomen to the left.
In case that's not obvious enough the sign also includes a pencil sketch illustrating the resemblance:
So, what's the point of hiking La Dormida? It's not to have the joy of proclaiming, "I stood on her nose!" 🤣 It's to have a view of the valley from the top of the ridge, to see several waterfalls along the way, and to see some native rock art, too.
El Valle, Panama - Tue, 24 Dec 2024. 12:30pm.
After the one hike we were able to do this morning, at Chorro Macho falls, we came back through town to get lunch. I was still fuming about the two hikes we were not able to do but tried not to let my frustration drag me down too much. After all, there are still other worthy things to do here in Anton's Valley. We used lunchtime as downtime to review our plans and see what we could pull forward.
It helped that the sun starting poking out from behind the clouds. It was the first time in almost 24 hours we'd seen it! I'd been fretting, among other things, that we were doomed to have nothing but gloom and rain for our 9 days here in Panama.
"Let's hike La Dormida," I suggested.
"We could do that tomorrow, and get an early start. It might be too late today-" Hawk responded.
"Let's hike while sun is shining!" I interrupted.
Okay, so what is La Dormida? It's kind of a Romeo and Juliet story... if Romeo and Juliet also involved a mountain.
The Legend of La India Dormida
A legend from the time of the Spanish conquest in Panama tells of La Dormida, or The Sleeping (Native) Girl. Luba, a young woman, the younger daughter of the local chief, fell madly in love with one of the Spanish soldiers subjugating her people. But a young man, Yaravi, a brave warrior of her own people, was madly in love with her. Yaravi was so distraught over what he saw as Luba's betrayal (to himself and to their people) that he took his own life. When Luba learned of this she reconsidered her actions and was filled with regret. She renounced her love for the Spanish soldier and ran off into the woods. Exhausted, she lay on the ground, then died. The mountains took the form of her body.
The legend is explained on a sign at the trailhead on the edge of town. Along with it are these two pictures. Above is a view of the mountain from (I think) down here in the valley. You can kind of see the supine human form in it: head to the right, neck in the middle, chest and abdomen to the left.
In case that's not obvious enough the sign also includes a pencil sketch illustrating the resemblance:
So, what's the point of hiking La Dormida? It's not to have the joy of proclaiming, "I stood on her nose!" 🤣 It's to have a view of the valley from the top of the ridge, to see several waterfalls along the way, and to see some native rock art, too.