The San Blas

Good Morning, San Blas! Dolphins greeted us at the bow! WOW!

Anchored by 9:30 at the government island and capital, El Porvenir, we dinghy over to the headquarters, Congreso General Guna, to check into Panama and the San Blas. Here, the immigration officers are very friendly - they offered to let us use their cell phone for internet (which we declined) and to take our pictures.

There are numerous neighboring small islands filled shore to shore with villages of huts. We stop at Wichub Wala to do some exploring.

Small shops, narrow sand-packed lanes (no streets as there are no vehicles) between basic huts where they live, friendly people, cute kids, clean and welcoming. All the ladies see an opportunity to sell their molas. Molas are part of the traditional dress of Guna (or Kuna) women. Brightly colored appliqued fabric in geometric/zigzag designs often of fish and birds, women hand-sew and sell molas to tourists. Their homes are often cane-walled, thatched-roof “negas” with 2 rooms. One room is filled with hammocks for sleeping, the other room is for cooking. In the homes, as it has always been and still is, the women are the rulers.

We pull anchor and move out to the more uninhabited Lemon Cays (Cayos Limones), anchoring near PALM Island. Surrounded by reef, we have an amazing snorkel with the thickest field of healthy, live coral I have ever seen.

For dinner: fresh-caught lobster and octopus (caught, sold and delivered to Nutmeg from the local fishermen in their dug-out canoes) ala Maxine.

XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 12
Max and Whitey did charters in the San Blas for a number of years, so they are familiar with the area and got to know some people. They are anxious to see the changes since they were here over 10 years ago and see if they find anyone they might remember & who remembers them.

The San Blas, now officially known as Guna Yala, is an archipelago of

over 360 islands and cays, of which 49 (or so) are inhabited by approximately 40,000 indigenous Kuna (or Guna) Indians. A narrow strip of tropical paradise stretching some 230 miles all along the Caribbean coast of Panama, the Kunas protect their lands from massive tourism. Guna Yala is an independent territory of Panama with their own laws and values honoring their centuries old culture. Kunas speak their own language, Dulegaya – most also speak Spanish.

We motor out to another group of islands known at the “Hollandaise” Islands, one of their favorite areas, anchoring off an idyllic “Gilligan’s” island with sandy beaches, thick with coconut trees and other tropical foliage, and another thick coral reef. Soon a canoe with a young family pull alongside Nutmeg. It’s Edwino! He recognized Max from the island across the way, loaded up his family of 7 kids ages 3 to 16

(and an older nephew) to come see Max & Whitey! His wife stayed on the island as she was cooking iguana for dinner. After filling their containers with fresh water and buying a mola, Edwino invited us to visit them on the island tomorrow. FYI Edwino is 65 years old.

Later, early evening, another canoe with 3 young men visit us. Yes, we can fill you up with fresh water. (we have a RO watermaker). They appear to be fishing and camping with some other friends. Plus, one young man is celebrating his 21st birthday! So, 6 beers later, they are on their way.

Living very simple fishermen lives on the water, their lives have not changed much in many years. The men fish – mostly in dugout canoes called “cayucos” powered with hand-made paddles and muscle, some with simple sails, a few more with motors than in the past - and may have jobs “in town”. The women take care of the home and the kids (often many), sew molas to sell, and maybe run other shops, like a small bakery or grocery store. We are enjoying some of the homemade breads.

Too bad we aren’t making our own beer! Missing our nightly OOGA beer time & friends…

XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 13
Enjoyed our morning coffee and exercises by “Gilligan’s Island”.

Captain Whitey worked on drying out the engine/generator room. The water was minimal – but made sure all was dried out well before turning on the generator again. And he sealed the hatch better to prevent water getting in again.

Visited Edwino and his family this afternoon. Was a challenging landing in our dinghy – we jumped off to discover several large, slippery logs hiding underwater. Max & Whitey instead took the dinghy to a better area on the other side of the island, where Edwino’s family lives. One young boy, “Numero Uno” (had #1 on his T-shirt), was a little fish, he just loved the water. They have the entire island to themselves. Edwino’s younger, beautiful wife, in full, traditional Kuna dress (colorful, intricately stitched mola blouse, sarong-like skirt and beaded leg wraps) was grating coconut near their campfire/outside kitchen. Their small hut was just large enough to fit a hammock for everyone. There is no running water or other conveniences of modern life.

Two of the older boys led Gpa to the other end of the island to teach Gpa how to climb up a coconut tree. They finally returned carrying several coconuts – which Gpa had only supervised the older boy climb up to harvest. Edwino then cut the coconuts open with his machete for us all to enjoy the fresh, sweet coconut water. Mother Nature’s perfect source of fluid when there is no fresh water available. Brilliant.

The most impressive part of their “compound” was their “sport court”. Complete with a bench press, weights, and other ingeniously built exercise equipment made out of coconut tree logs. After we all had a good workout, we bid them farewell and dinghied to the next island.

A larger island with several sailboats anchored out and a much better shore to land on, we walked up the beautiful sand beach to the beach bar. We all enjoyed a Balboa beer (made in Panama) and chatted with the owner, “Lion”, a Panamanian man with long dreadlocks, married to a local Kuna woman who works on the mainland. Having been in business only 6 months, his bar and beach development was nicely built and still a work in progress. While he also had food, he recommended another place across the island for dinner tomorrow night. Unlike Edwino’s island, there was very little litter along the path and beaches – and safer walking in bare feet.

Cocktail hour on the foredeck followed by dinner and a good night’s sleep.
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 14
A morning rainbow & Happy Valentine’s Day & Happy Anniversary! To Max & Whitey (31 years) and Jim & Ruth (42 years). Just a boat full of love birds.

After Gpa went to do his exercises and bear crawl at “JimGym Island” (aka Gilligan’s Island) and Whitey and Max (see, doesn’t that seem backwards?) did their projects of the day (like cleaning and sharpening his spear gun for lobster diving – or was that Cupid’s arrow?), we moved Nutmeg a short jaunt over to “the larger island” to be closer to dinghy in for dinner.

Once we settled in and had our usual after-lunch-nap, we took the dinghy to the outer edge of the reef. There was a strong current, so didn’t swim any farther out. We let the current do the work and drifted along the sandy grassy area until we came upon the reef full of corals and lots and lots of fish, including a beautiful eagle ray, various butterfly fish, 2 larger spade fish and so many brain corals they looked like a bunch of scattered bowling balls of various sizes. Unfortunately, no camera. We then let the current help take us all the way back to Nutmeg.

Time to “dress up” and get ready to go out to eat! With our larger dinghy we can’t just beach it – Whitey brings us close to shore where we jump off into the water, he anchors it off shore and swims in. There’s a local man working on his cayuco on shore. Wouldn’t you know it, he’s Max and Whitey’s old friend Victor!

Drinking some cold Balboa beers under the palm-roofed shade at Lion’s we chat with a young sailing couple from Columbia and the Netherlands, living in Bonaire, and his brother. There’s another group

of boaters having a picnic down the beach. Several other dinghies are anchored along the shore and people walking about the beach and conch lined path to the other side.

Though this is quite a primitive, undeveloped island, Lion and Ivin are very industrious and developing nice island businesses. On our way down the path to Ivin’s for dinner, we are feeling the bladder aftermaths of the beer. Whitey & Gpa, of course, can easily remedy that problem amongst all the banana and papaya trees; Max & Gma are realizing there is probably no bathroom at the fine dining establishment ahead. On arrival we are quickly offered more cold beers and Max bravely walks into the water. I take a beer back to the bar to exchange it for wine and notice a nice building off to the right with a bikini sign. Could this actually be a restroom? I bravely walk up to check it out and am so very pleasantly surprised to see a real toilet! Not actually hooked up to plumbing for water, there are instructions to put water into the toilet from the barrel to flush. Ingenious. (& TP goes into the waste bin, not down the toilet!)

How they were able to prepare such an amazing meal will forever bewilder me. A 4-course meal of garlic and sun-dried tomato focaccia bread, conch and octopus ceviche (best ceviche I’ve ever had!), with fried plantains (also the best I’ve ever had!), seafood stew (fish and lobster) with a side of fried potatoes with red cabbage and onion, more focaccia, finished off with coconut cake with chocolate sauce. YUM!

Back to Nutmeg for some Zacapa and star gazing on the foredeck beanbags. Ahhhhh. Doesn’t get much better than this!
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 15
Oh, what a beautiful morning.
A couple times every day a local boat will stop by Nutmeg to greet us, often with several young men who have been fishing for lobster, octopus, crab, mackerel and other fish – willing to sell us their catch of the day and also happy to ask us to fill their containers with fresh water and happy to take a beer. Some even like us to charge their cell phones for them. Ah – a modern convenience. We bought some large crab and lobsters yesterday and couldn’t resist a few more lobsters today. We will feast tonight! The “vegetable boat” also came visiting today – perfect timing to refresh our supply of veggies – plus some avo’s and breadfruit from a late young straggler with no engine who, we felt, deserved to earn some of our dollars.
After a couple of good snorkels we feasted on the lobster and have some leftover for tomorrow.
Oh, what a beautiful day.
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 16 Good day!
After breakfast we left the Hollandaise Islands and sailed to Nargana and Corazon de Jesus which are connected by a long foot bridge. Close to the mainland you can see the peaks of the Sierra Madre mountain range mostly covered by dark clouds. A larger community near the mainland, there is a lot of floating debris in the harbor. No swimming or snorkeling here! But there is a strong signal and we can get internet. Another day at the office. All work and no play.

Breadfruit grows on a tree and boasts many health benefits. It also makes good exercise equipment (weighed over 5 pounds) and makes a good footstool. Mother Nature used her artistic skills to create a most colorful and geometric design. The inside is rather fleshy and slightly sweet. Max used her culinary skills to make Breadfruit Fries along with Lobster Rolls from our left-over lobster.
Good night. XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 17
Let’s go to town! A larger community with wider sand-packed “streets”, an elementary school, playground, bank, police station, a few small bars and restaurants and many homes – some made of cement with tin roofs. This must be civilization - even the smallest of huts have their satellite dish (or 2). Notice the white heron which I didn't realize was there until I looked at the picture - a sign of hope and possibility. There are very few dogs or cats and, unlike the BVI, no chickens with their baby chicks or roosters waking you up early in the morning. A beautifully patterned, very large cat slowly crossed thatch juts our path and meandered between some huts – totally ignoring my “here kitty kitty” greeting. Guess I’ve lost my touch. Need to learn how to call a cat in Spanish or Dulegaya.

Whitey soon finds a young man, Andy, with a boat to take us up Rio Diablo – along with his one-and-only young daughter Milagro. which means “Miracle” because of her difficult birth. Every day men will paddle their cayucos (or some now have motor boats, like Andy’s) up the river to fill their containers with fresh water and to farm their plots of bananas, coconuts, mango, papya and other fruits and vegetables

in the jungle. Starting in the ocean salt water, the water gradually changes to brackish before it becomes fresh water about three miles up river. There is actually a waterfall another 2 mile walk in, providing the amazingly clean, cold fresh water. Birds were singing but hard to spy. There was a small cemetery along the side. The beautiful tropical canopy hovered over us as we twisted the turns along the river into the jungle. We decided to call this excursion “Fifty Shades of Green”.

Many of the more inhabited islands are located near the mouth of a river. Because the islands are at sea level, no wells can be dug so all water must be hauled from mainland rivers. There is also a small airport (basically a landing strip) on another small island nearby – busy with smaller airplanes flying products and people in and out.

Back to Nutmeg, we decided to pass on the 3-day Carnival starting tonight and head out to the Green Cays for a snorkel and calmer night. Anchored near an island with a nearby reef, we snorkeled out to find a shallow reef with terrible visibility. Didn’t see much but spotted a wooden paddle lost from a cayuco along the bottom. Gpa dove down to rescue it and swam our treasure to our boat. Due to

the bad visibility and rolling sea we moved to another island where several other cruising boats were anchored. Winds and seas were calmer, sheltered by a long reef to explore tomorrow.

Whitey made his famous Thai Bok Choy soup for dinner. Tasted as good as it smelled.

I finished another book: Beneath the Same Stars: a novel of the 1862 U.S. – Dakota War. A brutal history of the Sioux and white settlers in southwest Minnesota – including New Ulm, St. Paul and Fort Snelling. I do hope we are doing a better job of teaching history to our children than what I was taught. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like history class. Owen - you should read this!

Now I must find a new book. Any recommendations??
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 18
It's time to wake up!

Somehow overnight our calm harbor became quite windy and a bit rollie. The Kuna Yala Islands are a favorite well-kept secret for cruising sailors. The islands are sheltered by outer reefs from the worst of the storms and waves of the ocean. Picture perfect palm covered islands with constant pounding surf just beyond and the horizon lost in the ocean mist. Being closer to the mainland, the Green Cays also have a great view of the cloud covered mountains along the coast. Seems all the other 20+ cruising sailboats have also decided it’s a good morning to chillax on their boats.

Though protected from massive tourism, the cruising boats and tourism are important to the Kuna economy. It helps the Kuna people to maintain their autonomy and preserve their unique culture. There are Kuna-run boats and hotels in the archipelago offering ecotours, fishing, snorkeling, and touring of nearby villages. A hotel here offers rustic accommodations with no modern facilities, appealing for those who really want to get away from civilization.

We enjoyed some late afternoon free entertainment from some kite boarders zooming along the shallows between islands. The one person was really really good – in these big winds he went really really fast and got some really really big air. He was having a good time and so were we just watching.

Sunset. Crab cakes & coleslaw. Finish reading “The White Witch Doctor of the San Blas” and it's time to fall asleep.
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 19
Another morning rainbow.
Still windy, but let’s get some toys out! It’s Sunday Funday! We have two new blow-up paddle boards and an inflatable kayak. Took a

lot of energy and, when all else failed, read some directions. At least we had an air pump and didn’t need to use our own hot air. Time to recuperate, have lunch and a nap. Let’s go to shore! Pulled the toys behind the dinghy, tested them out a walked along the sandy shore. What a beautiful coconut tree island completely surrounded by a sand beach. A heron liked the beach, too. After beer time, we met Mike and Dorothy (?) who we watched kiteboard yesterday. An older couple (60ish) from South Africa who live on their boat in the San Blas half the year and in St Andreas near Nicaragua the other half, have been kiteboarding for 5 years. It is technically illegal to kiteboard in the San Blas – guess it is a too modern touristy thing. They wait until later in the day when any officials are no longer out among the islands. Today we had beach-side seats and private instruction on how easy it is. No thanks, happy to watch.

After our Sunday night pork roast dinner it’s star gazing time with some ice cold Limoncello. Saw a satellite cross the sky and a shooting star. Another good night.

XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 20
After our day of rest, it’s back to work.
Sailed to another group of islands, the CoCo Banderos. We nestled into 3 close-together small islands which I named the “Three Sisters” for Marilyn, Ann & Ruth. All with full sandy beaches surrounded by reef it was a tight squeeze to get into the harbor. We were followed by several other boats through the afternoon – some decided they really didn’t belong there and left for an easier anchorage. There is also a very unusual island to our north that is all sand with a couple of old yet colorful buildings and several small coconut trees planted. Guess this island must be “Roy”.

Winds were still quite strong. We snorkeled into the closest island and walked the beach (Gpa ran and did his bear crawl.) Later, some local guys in their cayuco were busy netting fish.
That was a hard day. Early to bed. XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 21
Early to rise to watch the sun come up. Stars were still out but the sky was an early morning gray. Finally the sun can up over “Ann”. (Marilyn doesn’t like mornings – is more of a night owl - she is still sleeping there in the background. Ann likes mornings and early morning walks in the Horicon Marsh.)

Whitey worked all day on our Spectra water maker. It’s an RO unit that puts high pressure salt water thru a membrane, making pure water, followed by another filter to put “good” minerals back into the water. A new membrane was installed before leaving the BVI. It is supposed to be able to make over 16 gallons of water in an hour but has been only making 6 and finally it gave up. No more water to share with the locals! He had also brought along a kit with several parts to fix whatever needs fixing. Come to find out they sent him the wrong kit – for a different water maker. Argh!

Can’t fix it – so let’s take the dinghy for a ride and check out some reefs! You never know what you’re going to see under the water until you get there. Will it end up being mostly sand and grass? Will the visibility be good or bad? We were not disappointed – these reefs were very shallow islands which suddenly dropped very deep. The shallow areas were too shallow to snorkel over so we swam along the deep outer walls. After two good snorkels we dinghied over closer to “Roy” and back over to the “Three Sisters” and Nutmeg.

An early evening rainbow and Max’s wonderful Paella.

What another nice day.
XO XO Gma & Gpa

FEB 22
A beautiful day and beautiful sail back to the Lemon Cays - and back to our first snorkel that we were so WOWed by. Just as good as before – so many corals you had to really look to see the fish. Max and Whitey, unable to join us before, were also WOWed this time.

We pulled into the larger island with the resort for the rest of the day and night. The largest eco-resort we have seen (tho we did not set foot on the island) they have 2 groups of cabanas on stilts, a handful more of small cottages, a shallow beach area and a rustic bar-restaurant at the west end. On our late afternoon cocktail cruise, several of the cabanas had couples enjoying their hammocks in their front porches over the water. Nice place for land-lubbers to get a taste of the island life in the San Blas.

Love: the shipwreck on the nearby reef & large ship wreck farther out; watching the sail powered cayucos; snorkeling with all the fish and corals; sailing & camping on Nutmeg; Max's cooking; Whitey's sailing knowledge and humor; sunrises and sunsets; the stars & the moon.
Ain't it great to be alive!
XO XO Gma & Gpa