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The forests of eastern Panama have been deforested up to the boundaries of fragile protected zones and mountains like the Continental Divide.

Eudelio Chiari, one of the Guna guides on the trek to Mordí, stated that he had never been on that part of the trail before.

During the author's trek in the Gunayala jungle, there was a 36-hour period of very heavy rain.

To slow a descent on slippery hills, Guna guide Eudelio Chiari advised the author to use his heels.

During the trek to Mordí, the author accidentally stepped in a jaguar dropping that guide Arcelio González, who is in his 40s, was attempting to show him.

The Darién Gap area is controlled by Indigenous peoples and remains almost completely undeveloped.

A route through the Darién Gap was likely used by the Guna people to flee danger during the colonial era, when they were spread across eastern Panama and Colombia.

Eudelio Chiari, the 29-year-old cook for the author's trek, described their guide Gerónimo Dequía as being 'like an ant when he gets in the forest'.

The guide, Gerónimo Dequía González, had an Emberá father; the Emberá are another of Panama's major Indigenous groups and were historical enemies of the Guna people.

The guide for the author's trek to Mordí was Gerónimo Dequía González, a 46-year-old farmer and fisherman from Mulatupu.

As of the author's 2026 trek, Guna men had been cutting a road to Mordí by hand for 13 years.

The author's 1998 attempt to trek to Mordí with his family was abandoned after one day due to difficult terrain and an unclear path.

Historically, the Guna people believe the deep forest is inhabited by dangerous spirits, which leads many to avoid it.

The author's Guna companions on his trek were open to developing a sacred site, provided that the Guna people controlled the development.

The author, Ben Ryder Howe, previously attempted to trek to Mordí in 1998 with his father and brother.

In the Guna 'chicha' celebration, participants consume 'inna', a beverage made from sugarcane that is fermented in clay pots.

Guna guides Arcelio González, Jerónimo Dequía, and Aurelio Chiari dried their wet socks and boots by a fire after a full day of walking through the jungle and crossing rivers.

The failure of the Scottish colony in Panama, which was financed by private investors, contributed to an economic crash that forced Scotland to join the United Kingdom.

During his trek in the Gunayala region, the author encountered Edgardo Linares, a high school teacher from Panama City, who was the sole resident of an abandoned Guna village.

In 1914, on the orders of Guna chief Inabaginya, the area of Puerto Escocés underwent a month-long exorcism ritual that involved chanting.