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Click to enlarge the chart of San Blas Islands San
Blas Islands, Panama (1st
of July to 10th of August, 2004)
The
passage Curaçao to Porvenir, San Blas
Just a few days after having arrived in Curaçao, we all of a sudden had a good weather window to sail to Panama. We already wanted to go to Panama and Costa Rica for a long time. We had to pick our weather window very carefully, because the passage runs along the northern coast of Colombia. And many yachts, which have completed a round-the-world trip, say they encountered the worst seas north of Colombia. This is why at first I wanted to fly there, but as Marcel could not find anybody to sail with him, I decided to sail along with him. The weather forecast said 5 Beaufort, but along the Colombian coast it was blowing harder at 6 to 7 Beaufort. The waves were also higher than expected, due to currents. Sometimes we had a favourable current of 2.5 knots and sometimes none. I was feeling uneasy about the weather at times. Marcel never was. The first night he was seasick though and I felt queasy for the first few days. The last 24 hours the wind dropped to nil. Strange, how those high seas and winds dissolved into nothing as we went further south. We had to motor the last night and go very slow to arrive at dawn, so that we would be able to see the reefs. We arrived in the San Blas Islands on July the 5th after 5 days and nights at sea. Landfall was at Porvenir, a tiny, tropical island with an airstrip, a hotel, and a customs and immigration office. The
islands
The
area of the San Blas Islands is wonderful to explore. The 365 idyllic islands of
the island chain are not far from each other, and belong to the nation of Kuna
Yala, inhabited and governed by Kuna Indians. Most of these beautiful, tropical
islands are uninhabited, surrounded by coral reefs, and have palm-lined white
beaches. We especially liked the island just west of Kuanidup, full of coconut
bearing palm trees and a pristine, white sand beach. Some
islands are inhabited and some have traditional Kuna villages on them with
little cane houses with thatched roofs made of palm fronds, spilling over the
edges of the island. One can hardly buy anything on the islands, although some
have small “tiendas” or shops. Some islands also have schools and a
basketball court. Only a few modernized islands have concrete houses,
telephones, a church and a bank. There are no cash machines. We
were truly overwhelmed by this beautiful paradise and it’s nature. It was very
peaceful and quiet, maybe because of the low (wet) season. Only an occasional
"ulu", or dugout canoe, would visit us at the anchorages, with Kuna
Indians selling “molas”, and fruit or crab and lobster. Mangoes and
pineapples are abundant this time of year. Some Kunas just came by for a chat.
They would often ask if we had old “revistas” or magazines, which they
needed for school. The
people
The
Kuna Indians are fascinating people. The women make "molas". These are
rectangular pieces of fabric with intricate embroidery, application and fine
needlework in colourful designs, which are used to decorate the front and back
of the blouses the women wear. The decorative “mola” blouse apparently
originated from body painting in the early days. The designs are usually
depicting local animals, like parrots, toucans, humming birds, fish, turtles and
flowers. The more layers of fabric a “mola” has, the better the quality, and
the stitching should be invisible. By selling “molas”, the women take care
of the major part of their income. They are keen sales people. The men work the
land, for which they sail to the mainland, build huts and “ulus”, and catch
fish, crab and lobster and sell these. In some villages they also get water in
jugs from nearby rivers on the mainland. The
women are nicely dressed with the “mola” blouse, a sarong, which is usually
dark blue with yellow print, and a red headscarf with yellow print. They cover
their arms and legs with bracelets, made of small beads, and they wear golden
jewellery around their necks and in their ears. Most of them wear golden nose
rings and a tattooed line on their noses. Girls wear their hair long, and
married women have a short haircut. They walk barefoot or on plastic high heels.
On some islands we saw some transvestites, who were also nicely dressed, with
jewellery and a line on their nose. It is
nice to talk to the people. Children are always very enthusiastic and talkative.
Some people speak Spanish, but in remote areas they only speak Kuna. The
Kunas are very adept at sailing their "ulus" around. Most of them
propel their “ulus” using paddles, bargepoles or sails. One of the sails we
saw was made from what seemed an old curtain with a beautiful floral design.
They steer the “ulu” using a paddle. Only a few “ulus” use outboard
motors, and these are usually for public transport. Most “ulus” are not
quite watertight, so that they have to bail a lot. The “ulu” is the main
means of transportation of the Kuna Indians. To make an “ulu”, a Kuna man
finds a big hardwood tree in the jungle of the mainland. There he will chop the
tree and roughly dig out the canoe into it’s preliminary shape, and then float
it down a river and to his home, where he finishes it. The
weather
There's
hardly any wind in the rainy season. We have only used our sails once during our
stay in the San Blas area. This is due to the ”doldrums” or ITZC (inter
tropical convergence zone), an area of no wind with numerous thunderstorms,
which lie north of the equator in summer and south of the equator in winter.
They are caused by the NE and SE trade winds coming together in the ITCZ. It can
get very hot and sticky to cool off again by pouring rain and thunder and
lightning. One evening in the West Lemon Cays we were eaten by lots of
mosquitoes and no-see-ums, tiny biting flies, and soon after that we had thunder
and lightning just over our heads for about two hours. That was a bit scary, but
all went well. It was raining so much that I had a shower in the rain and a bath
the next morning in our dinghy, which was filled to the rim with rainwater. The
village on Mormake Tupu
One of
the highlights of our stay in the San Blas area was our visit to two
picturesque, traditional villages. Before wandering around in any village or
going up any river, you have to get permission from the “Sahila” or chief
from the village. One of
the islands we visited was Mormake Tupu, a little island with a village on it.
It was a fantastic experience. These people know how to live in nature. It still
is so pure and unspoiled. On our visit, Ponciano, whom we had met at Kuanidup
before, welcomed us, and escorted us to the “Congreso”, the largest hut on
the island, to see the “Sahila”. The “Congreso” is also the place, where
the villagers meet on some evenings to discuss community matters, and where
“fiestas” are held. We talked to the “Sahila” in Spanish, which Ponciano
translated into Kuna, and paid our visitor’s fee. Now we
could walk around the village, escorted by Ponciano. In some places the
“streets”, running between the huts and banana or palm trees are only a
meter wide. We saw them building some new huts with cane and freshly cut palm
fronds. At
first the women on the island only allowed me to take pictures of them for a
dollar, but the children were eager to have their picture taken. Each time I
showed them how a picture turned out on the little screen of our digital camera,
and pretty soon we were surrounded by lots of children. They followed us
everywhere. Having no children myself, it was as if all of a sudden I had lots
of children. One of the little boys wanted to hold my hand while we walked
around through the village. I felt deeply moved. They
showed us a coconut press, which the children used as a seesaw. Hearing the
noise from the children, also the adults came out of their huts to see what was
happening. Then I got an idea, to make prints of the photographs and give them
to the people. And when I told them this, everybody wanted to have their picture
taken. They led us through their homes into their “back yards” on the
waterfront to take photos of them posing in an “ulu”. We took family
portraits of Ponciano and his family and many others, also women in
"ulus" and in front of their huts. Ponciano’s father-in-law even put
on his white shirt, tie and hat for the occasion, and Ponciano’s wife urged me
to dress in Kuna traditional dress and pose for a photograph as well. We had a
lot of fun. In the
back yards we could see their washrooms, and “ulus” sticking out over the
water. Their huts are very dark and quite hot. There’s usually a wooden board
on stilts off the ground, serving as a bed. Little wooden stools and hammocks
serve as chairs. They often keep dogs and parrots as pets. One of the boys even
had a small sea turtle as a pet. It was crawling in the sand. We convinced them
to put the turtle in water. He did that, but unfortunately, he would not set him
free. A
whole group of children escorted us, when we went to buy some “muda” or Kuna
bread fresh from the oven, and back to the dock. Their bread is delicious when
it is still warm. Back on the boat we printed the photos and gave them the next
day to Ponciano to distribute them to the people. Monkeys
at Rio Esadi
The
next day we rowed our dinghy up the Rio Esadi into the mainland. There was a
muddy path leading from farmland, through the rainforest up the hills. We went
past their coconut and banana plantations. They also grow yucca, corn and
pineapple. In the forest we saw all kinds of tropical flowers, and big, bright
blue butterflies (“blue morpho”), and we heard all kinds of birds. Higher up
the hill we thought we heard birds, but when we took a closer look, we saw that
the noise had come from some playful “Tamarin” monkeys. They were very
curious, staring at us with their tiny black faces, but they did not quite dare
to come too close. “Tamarins” are pretty with black faces, hands, feet and
furry tails and white woolly furs covering their bodies and heads like little
hoods. From the hills we had a nice view over the bay and the islands. Other
rivers
We
explored several rivers in Kuna Yala, and each river is very different. In Japan
they say life is like a river, you never know what comes around the bend. The
rivers here are winding through farmland and jungle. Rivers are very important
for the Kuna Indians. It is their source of drinking water. In the old days and
even still today on Tupsuit Dumat and Pippi, the Kuna Indians paddle or push
their “ulus” with bargepoles up the stream of Rio Torti two or three times a
week, to fill their jugs with water, and paddle back to the village. Nowadays in
most places a water pipe runs from the river to nearby islands. The Kunas have
their farmland along the river, and they bury their dead in cemeteries on pieces
of land along the rivers. The
Rio Mandinga is a wide river, which flows very fast, and has minor rapids in
places. We had to use full throttle to get upstream. We met several Kuna
Indians, paddling downstream, their “ulu” laden with all kinds of fruit, and
sometimes, entire families accompanied the men. One of the women was doing her
fine needlework on a “mola”, while the men were steering their “ulu”
through the rapids. Rafting downstream we saw “ulus” going upstream, which
was really hard work for the men, pushing the boat upstream, against the
current, with bargepoles. Two guys passing asked us what time it was. They still
had to go three hours to go to get to their hut in the mountains. Coco
Bandero Cays
In
Coco Bandero Cays I wrote to a friend: “Now we are at anchor at the East Coco
Bandero Cays, and enjoying paradise here. The translucent waters are emerald
green. I did yoga and danced on the beach on an island covered with coconut
palms close to our boat. Yesterday an “ulu” came by and we bought fresh king
crab, cucumber and coconut. So I guess that's what we'll eat today. We are
living day by day, as the Kunas do.” On the picturesque island of Esnatupile
there is a freshwater well. Our view on from the anchorage between two little
islands inspired me to make another painting. Holandes
Cays
On a
bright day we decided to go to the East Holandes Cays. This group of beautiful
islands has crystal clear waters, because it is furthest away from the mainland,
where the water can be murky due to the sediment influx from the rivers,
especially in the rainy season. We went to an anchorage called the “swimming
pool”, where the beautiful clear waters depending on the depth have shades of
blue, turquoise, and green. The coral reefs are clearly visible with their
shades of brown. We had such a good time, that we spent a long time here. Almost
every day we went snorkelling, often with our friends from “Chewbacca” and
“Freya”. Often we saw spotted eagle rays gliding gracefully through the
water beneath us. Occasionally we also saw them jumping out of the water, and
make summersaults, before splashing back into the water, while cruising. One day
we made a fantastic snorkelling trip. We swam along a coral wall. Marcel was
behind me trying to see if he could move a huge log on the reef. I could hear
the noise behind me. Possibly attracted by the sound waves, all of a sudden out
of the deep, there he was: I looked straight into the eyes of a huge nurse shark
of about two meters long! He was swimming towards me. In hindsight I should have
probably held still, but although I had heard they are harmless, unless
provoked, I was so startled that I backed away from him. I think the shark was
just as startled as I was, because he turned around and swam away. I rushed to
tell Marcel, so that he could also catch a glimpse of him before he disappeared
back into the abyss. It was awesome and fantastic at the same time. We
also went to a spot called “Japanese Gardens”, a shallow underwater park,
full of different kinds of soft and hard corals, so beautiful that it looked
like carefully landscaped gardens under water. There were a lot of lobsters
hiding in small nooks and crannies. Another time I found a conch shell. It was
actually big enough to eat. You are allowed to catch adult ones with a
full-grown shell, but I could not do it in the end. I took a picture of it
instead, so that I could paint it, and put it back on the sea bottom. That same
afternoon it went for a “walk” and disappeared. This
is also where I celebrated my birthday with home-baked birthday cakes. We had a
good time with the other cruisers on Potluck Island, so called because each
Monday the cruisers would get together on the island. Everybody brings drinks
and snacks to share, have a chat, swap books, CD’s and videos. At dusk they
make a campfire to burn fallen branches, driftwood and their trash. One cruising
couple actually has come here for five years, and stays anchored at the
“swimming pool” almost permanently. Reggie rakes the island and keeps it
nice and clean. On the island we also painted together, played games and did
yoga. This island also has a water well, and one day we noticed a boa
constrictor in the well. We think the Kunas put it there to free the island from
rats. The
islands are mostly uninhabited, but a few families live on Banedup. We went
there one day to trade “molas” for cloths, shampoo, and other cosmetics like
make-up. Sometimes we see Kuna women walking around with unnaturally red cheeks.
They gave us coconuts and plantains as a gift. There are no shops on these
islands. The nearest “supermarket”, which only sells the bare minimum, is
half a day trip away on Nargana. So everybody in the “swimming pool” would
slowly run out of supplies. One morning it felt like Christmas, when a boat came
over from Nargana to sell us some groceries, fresh vegetables and fruit. We
also anchored at Miriadiadup in the West Holandes Cays. Marcel had to explore
the anchorage snorkelling, to make sure we would swing free from all the
surrounding corals. There was a spot just big enough for Alegría. The
snorkelling was superb, as there were soft coral “gardens” just behind our
boat. I rowed the dinghy over to Morodup, where three children were staying a
few weeks with their grandparents, who came from the island of El Tigre. Morodup
is a tiny island with two huts and a few palm trees, surrounded by clear blue
waters. Tupsuit
Dumat and Tupsuit Pippi
Tupsuit Dumat and Tupsuit Pippi are two little islands in the far western corner of the Golfo de San Blas. “Dumat” means big and “pippi” means small. The villages on the islands here are also very traditional. On Tupsuit Dumat we did another photo session. Here we were welcomed and escorted by Atilliano, a ten year old boy. He showed us where to find the “Sahila”, his friends, Igua and Santiago, his school and the basketball court. We heard music coming from some of the huts. Someone was singing and somebody else played the maracas. The people from the village showed us an “ulu” in the make, and a press for “caña” or cane juice, used to make chicha, an alcoholic beverage, which the Kunas drink at their “fiestas”. In this area we saw many albinos, which is probably due to intermarriage. The Kunas call them “moonchildren”, and they are considered to be very special and seen as born leaders. Perhaps this is why they appear not as relaxed as the other Kunas. While we were at anchor close to Tupsuit Dumat, children, sometimes accompanied by their parents, would come to our boat at 5 pm for a chat. Two giggling girls came, and a few little boys. Attiliano actually came on board. Santiago came and brought us some plantains as a present. His brother Igua told us about their school system. Up to the age of 12 the children of the island as well as neighbouring islands come in two consecutive groups to the school on Tupsuit Dumat, where they attend primary school for four hours daily. At the age of 12 they have to go to Carti, an island some six miles away, by motorized “ulu” to go to secondary school. Igua told us that he wanted to become a teacher. One time a woman and her children came on board to sell “molas”. She was so eager to “read” and look through anything that was written, that she grabbed Marcel’s book about boat maintenance and “studied” it for quite a while. Afterword
We
like San Blas a lot for it’s beauty, it’s serenity, it’s nature, and
it’s people. The islands are beautiful. On some islands it seems that the sea
is taking over the islands bit by bit due to sea level rise. The soil around the
roots of palm trees on the edges of the islands is slowly washed away, and the
palm trees topple over and drop into the sea. On some islands the Kuna Indians
are bringing sand in “ulus” to cover wet areas to prevent mosquitoes
breeding in the fresh water puddles and thus fight malaria and dengue. The
Kuna Indians are still adhering to their traditions in remote areas. In other
places Western civilisation is creeping in. The rooftops of Nargana are
decorated with antennas, and out of huts and concrete houses, you can hear the
sound of a “telenovela” or television soap. Adults and children are hanging
in front of the TV with faces marked by boredom. Outboard motors are used more
often and airplanes are flying on and off with lobster and crab. The villagers
don’t understand the concept of conservation. Often they kill also the tiny
lobsters before they can ever reproduce. This was not a problem, when the
lobsters were only for their own consumption. But now that they are selling
lobster tails by ice chests full of them to the lobster planes, to be carried
and sold to fancy restaurants, it leaves one to wonder, how long can this last? How
long will it take before this authentic place changes completely over? Aren't we
lucky to still be able to experience it? Let’s hope it will stay like this. |
