Survivor

Yesterday (Monday) morning, Yvonne and I landed on San Blas, an archipelago off the Caribbean coast of Panama after a short flight from Panama city (that we almost missed - we are indeed 1 h further than CR!!). This 250 km stretch of tiny palm-tree covered islands is a comarca, a self-governed by its indigenous people, who call it Kuna Yala ("the coast line of the Kuna" in their language). Booking accommodation is quite a hassle as online information is sparse, and availability seems to follow a gambling scheme.

We were picked up from El Porvenir by our island host Irón ("EErón") on a 45 min shuttle in tiny motorized boat and quickly understood the purpose of the waxed fishermen coats that they made us wear: seawater kept splashing up all over us, and this way, we kept about ¼ of our bodies from getting soaked!
Fun fact: this is where the US series "Survivor" was shot, but as we

are passing over the sea, the scenery resembles much more the replica of childhood pirate stories. In fact, until now I had never really believed that this could exist in reality!

Our island (name?) has about the same size as the ones we had passed by boat, that is: quite limited size, maybe a third of a soccer field. Life here simple: cabanas with bamboo walls, coco-leaf roofs, hammocks, lots of palm trees, foam-soft white sand and plenty of turquoise water. Along with the remote-from-it-all package also come bugs on the beds and spartan, half open air restrooms and showers that only work on and off. Not remote enough to get a "Cast Away" feeling, though, as 3 h after our arrival some more island guests arrive. And off the boat steps the Aussi girl I had met 4 weeks ago in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua!

After a first "test" snorkel yesterday, Yvonne and I snorkeled around the whole island this morning and saw scenery that again brought up childhood memories, this time out of at sea life coloring book: Caribbean reefs of all shapes with "Christmas trees", fan reefs, anemones and polyps, surrounded by fish and star fish competing

with their vibrant shimmers and reflections in the sun-streamed clear waters. A little touch of paradise! At this occasion, I also found out that the underwater camera from 4 years ago, that I'd been dragging around doesn't work any more…
But how can you stress here while listening to the birds and the gentle breeze over the sounds of the waves?

Since there is only that much you can do on one island, we went on a trip to the neighboring "Isla de Pueblo" where a traditional indigenous festival celebrating girls passing into adulthood was on in full gear.
Picture this: the dirt path "main street" lined with Kuna women of all ages in their traditional colorful clothes (that they wear daily) - completely drunk! While on one side some are pouring rum into their friend's mouth head-back-to-neck style, two kids are carrying another one down the street who is completely wasted. Here and there a gay guy - one of them turns out to be a priest who will not let go of his rum bottle because "mi novio me plantó" (my boyfriend left me). In between, little children running around, and our 24 year old (sober) Kuna man company suddenly tries to catch the attention of a small drunken woman who is passing by - his mother that he wants to introduce to us.
Impressive enough, however, that the scene is completely peaceful!

Tomorrow's trip is supposed to be very different: a visit to the

uninhabited Cayas Holandeses with great snorkeling!