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November 1 - 14, 2007   San Blas Islands, Kuna Yala, Panama

Oh, how we love being here.  This is truly a tropical paradise, coconut palm trees decorate each island, white sandy beaches and the blue turquoise waters.   What is there not to like?  There are 365 islands in the San Blas so we could visit one each day of the year!

We are visited by the Kuna fishermen almost everyday selling their catch of lobster, crab or fish.  Fresh crab for $3 a piece or lobster 4 for $10, or conch $2 each cleaned. And believe us, you want them to clean it!

And every island that we visit, we are met by the Kuna natives that live there.  They row out  in their ulu's  (dugout canoes) and ask us if we would like to buy their molas or beads.  There is usually at least one child with them sometimes more.  I give each child a small ziploc bag filled with crayons and paper and some candy.  This is followed by the Kuna woman explaining that she has two babies at home, so I give her two more goody bags.  I also give them some juice in paper cups as I look at their molas. Kuna bread can also be bought, a torpedo shape roll, for .10 cents each. 

When the Kuna women at the Eastern Lemons came by, Pam, Denis, Aaron and I decided to get beads, so we all picked out our ankle bead design and watched as the Kuna woman placed them on our ankles. Groovy!

 the Eastern Hollandes, where the anchorage is called "the swimming pool" because of its sandy area and depths of 10-12ft. and the cruisers meet up on Potluck Island every Monday at 5pm for happy hour,

Miriardup, where only one boat can anchor due to the reefs surrounding the anchorage,

 Western Cocos Banderos, good snorkeling but limited protection,

 Eastern Lemons Cay, popular spot with good snorkeling possibilities, Western Lemons, shallow entrance to the south (6-7ft) and not a good anchoring spot,  snorkeling south of the island was disappointing, 

 Gunboat Island, a pretty island where one Kuna family lives but the anchoring is deep with coral bottom, not a good anchoring spot.

Los Grullos actually has a resort, a very primitive one,  and the anchorage is again coral and deep.  We actually renamed one of the islands to Blowmeadup, since all the islands here in the San Blas end with dup)  and set up a pizzeria. (just kidding)

The weather has not been cooperating, it rained two weeks straight everyday and the sun refused to shine so our snorkeling time has been limited.  When it rains the water clarity dissipates.  Also the wind has picked up at night, blowing at times up to 25-30knots, with squalls passing thru periodically which bring thunder and lightning.   So, before anchoring anywhere you need to make sure you are holding good and have good protection from the NE-E. Although, we have swung a complete 360, so having enough swing room between boats is a concern.

But even though our water activity has been minimal, Aaron has made the best of it.  When we were anchored in the swimming pool, he speared a 25lb. Cubera snapper, a personal best!

It rained yesterday morning really hard, which was good since we filled our water tanks, but it cancelled our tour with Lisa.   We are anchored here at Rio Sidra with fellow cruisers, Kaija's Song, Glide and Always Sunday, a catamarran with Drury and Jennifer aboard and decide to explore the two islands with villages on them.  We are met at the dock by many children, who smile and say "hola" and a young man named Alfredo who volunteers to be our guide.  He speaks pretty good English.  Rio Sidra is where Lisa, the master mola maker lives, and she invited us to her home, so Alfredo leads us to it.  It is a typical Kuna home, thatched roof and bamboo poles all tied together as walls, but she has a concrete floor, which is an upgrade. It has sparse furnishings, but she does have a TV and proudly plays us her CD, which  features the history of her life.   She lives right by the water, so the sea breeze flows thru the windows.  She brings out her molas and Jennifer and Drury who have not seen Lisa's molas yet, look at each one as Lisa places them on the table, then finally decide to buy two.  Pam on Glide, who is a mola buying extradornaire, purchases two as well. 

It's lunchtime, so we walk to Umberto's restaurant, a friend of Lisa's, and sit down at a large table, and all of us order the chicken.  (the other choice was fish).  A small green salad is served,  cold beer and soda, and the main dish is baked chicken with rice and plantains.  Dessert is a piece of cake, all this for $3.50. This is a picture of our waitress wearing the traditional Kuna dress.

We all take a stroll thru the sand streets and each time we take a picture, the children come up and want to see their picture.  Women stand in their doorways and hold up molas or beads for sale.  The Congresso is the meeting place for the Kuna's, it is a large hut with wooden benches placed on each side and four hammocks in the middle where the chief and his assistants here any complaints or issues that need to be addressed.  Another large hut is for the chicha parties, celebrations such as weddings, coming of age, or dedications.  Chicha is a local drink made from sugarcane and fermented to give it a kick and those who drink it

.

There are several small tiendas, selling fabric, some groceries, and other items.  We were wanting to buy a chicken for Thanksgiving but no luck. 

We also dinghy over to the next island, called Raton, where another master mola maker named Bellatio, an albino, lives. Albinos are held in high esteem.  More molas are displayed, but he has the most expensive one so far, a mola picturing monkeys is priced at $80.  Usually, the average mola is $25 or $35 depending on the layers and the stitchwork.

But today, Lisa comes by in a large dugout canoe with two other helpers' a driver and one up on the bow and picks each one of us up at our boats.  Another couple joins us, who are orginally from Germany.  It has rained again this morning, but Lisa is determined to do this tour, so off we go motoring slowly up the river which flows from the mainland. 

 The river is muddy and flowing swiftly, and after 15 minutes, we pull alongside the shore and exit the canoe.  Immediately, we are in mud, of course, and trudge along following Lisa as she points out different plants and what the uses of them are for.   We cross the river several times, wading across in over knee deep water.  After 20 minutes or so, we come to the cemetary where Lisa's father is buried.        

November 22, 2007    Happy Thanksgiving 

We made it back to the Eastern Hollandes, "the swimming pool" (did you know that there is also a hot tub anchorage?, it's next door to the pool) to celebrate the holiday.  There are 10 other boats here and everyone pitches in and with Debbie on s/v Runner organizational skills, the cruisers turkey day buffet is quite the spread on Potluck Island.  We even have the traditional bird along with cranberry sauce and my contribution are  two pecan pies, (my first, I brought the pecans back with me from the states, gotta think ahead)   

Time to move on down the coast and set ourselves up to make the crossing over to Cartagena.  We have been listening to Chris Parker, the weather guru, and a weather window is opening up next week.  But the wind is blowing 20 knots out of the east  as we try to make it to Snug Harbor which is approximately 25 miles further east.  We see Kaija's Song and Glide as they motorsail on by, and we up anchor and tag along.  The seas are kicked up and it is a rough ride thru the reefs and channels, and after taking a beating, we decide to head for Isla Tigre and wait for better weather.  Kaija's Song goes on, but Glide follows our lead and we anchor and sit tight for a couple of days.  By order of the chief of this island, no ulus come out to us to sell molas, bread, or fish.

November 28, 2007   What in the Devil?

It is a quick rush of a decision, but we decide this afternoon to head for Devil Cays, just 2.5 miles away.  This anchorage here in Isla Tigre is a rolly one, so we seek refuge.  We follow Glide out the eastern entrance and find ourselves in angry seas, 8-10 ft and little wind.  The wind had been blowing these last few days out of the northeast so that is why the seas were kicked up still.  But, we continue on knowing that this is temporary.  We make it into the anchorage in Devil Cays, and set anchor in 20ft, but there is a roll here too.  Oh well, we deal with it.

Herman, the anchor fee collector, comes out in his ulu and we pay $5 for this privilege.  If we want to go ashore and visit the island, we are told that it will cost us $3/per person.  So since we have visited seven villages already, we decide to stay onboard.

November 29, 2007   Time to get Snug

09 19.60N 78 15.28W

I slept well but no one else did since there was so much of a roll and the winds picked up during the night and worries of the anchor breaking loose and being close to a lee shore, made the worry warts get a fitful nite sleep.  Usually, I am in this group, but my exhaustion won out.  So, this morning, we again head out for Snug Harbor, where Kaija's Song, has been anchored these last two days and the report is that this anchorage is as snug as a bug in a rug.  The wind is variable, and the seas motoring out between  the reefs into deeper water are muy feo, which means very ugly still.  An hour into our hobby horsey ride, Glide's fuel filter becomes clogged and Denis manages to change it.  That is no small feat in these conditions.  With the carrot dangling in front of us of a smooth anchorage, we continue on and three and a half hours later we do indeed find ourselves anchored in 45ft in calm waters.  And Aaron after we had set anchor, exclaims that our pet gecko, named O, puked all over the boat! (just kidding), but it feels great to laugh after this horrible trip   Celebratory drinks onboard Kaija's Song and much laughter and stories told, make the day's hard journey slip away.

November 30, 2007   Beach Glass Addiction

While the men polish Glide's fuel, the women dinghy ashore and do some beachcombing.  And lo and behold, an extravagant find of beach glass is found.  Pam and Kaija are avid collectors, and well, since I am here, I begin to collect it as well.  There is so much of it that it is lying all around this one area of beach and after 4 and 1/2 hours, our backs breaking and are legs fatigued from bending over so much, we haul our booty back to the mainships. 

Dillon, an older local, comes by in his ulu and says that he can get us supplies, such as pineapple, potatoes, bread, and chicken.  In this conversation, he states that he is a Christian, and doesn't want any beer or cigarettes, but he would like a sweater.  I tell him that I will be happy to give him a sweater and candy for his two girls at home, if he will bring us a pineapple, potatoes and a chicken.  He says he needs the money upfront in order to buy so we give him $8.  The next day he brings us a pound of potatoes and says the rest of the order is coming by plane in the afternoon.  Dillon doesn't come by til the next morning, and says that his ulu tipped over on his way here and he lost the pineapple and chicken.  We tell him that pineapples float, but he said the wave was too big and he couldn't get it.  We found his story unbelievable since it was a calm day and the surf is way down, and I tell him that I am very sad this has happened, and give him the candy only for his two girls, no sweater.