Hi,
Sorry to hear this. The border police known as Senafront is constantly bullying and harrassing independent visitors to Darien under the pretext that they're doing it for your own safety. Which honestly is a lot of bs. They just don't want people traveling on their own in Darien, because they (Senafront) don't want to be the ones having to rescue them if "something happens". In reality the Darien is a lot safer that some neighborhoods in any big Latin American city. And any citizen, national or foreigner is entitled to travel freely anywhere in Panama. So Senafront breaks the law every time they stop someone from going where they want to go.
We run jungle expeditions in the Darien. I don't want to advertise our services here, but you can send me a private message if you need more info. We have one long trek coming up in March, if your interested.
From the "attraction" point of view, you can split the Darien in two. The upper and lower Darien. The upper Darien is accessible from the Panamerican Highway, and is considered "safe". There is a number of hostels, cabins, and logding offers and things to do. This is also the Darien that is full of cattle ranches, teak plantations, and big towns.
Then there's the lower Darien, this is where you get the lush and pristine jungles and the authentic villages of indigenous and Afro-darienite people. Getting there is more labor-intensive because there are no roads. You either travel by small plane to certain towns, or go by river. The airline service is somewhat unreliable and only goes to a handful of destinations. The boat is difficult because there is no organized or scheduled transport service beyond La Palma. You have to get there and ask if there is a boat going in the direction you're headed, and then negotiate a price. Many routes are tide-dependent so the timing is important.
In general tourism service providers and operators in lower Darien like Sambu Hause prefer to consolidate a group of four or more visitors, than having to deal with a solo traveler or a couple. Business-wise the lower Darien is hard and complicated enough to travel that unfortunately it's really not worth doing for just one person or two. For us, the ideal customer is the person who contacts us several months in advance, we put them on a roster with other clients and then make private arrangements in terms of transport, lodging, guides, etc.
The people who just show up in Panama and then decide that they want to go to Darien are really tough to please. Then finally there is the whole spectrum of interests that different travelers have. For example, we specialize in extended backpacking expeditions through the jungle. We don't engage in bird watching, ethnic tourism and other similar tours. But we're constantly getting inquiries from travelers who want to see indigenous people, watch birds, and do all manner of things that we really don't offer. So, matching a group with a common interest in a matter of just a few days is virtually impossible.
Bottom line: The Darien is complicated. If you really want to visit there my recommendation is to plan your trip well ahead of time, find an activity that you really like and then do a thorough search for an outfitter that can provide you with those services.
Cheers,
R
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