Vacation is almost over
26 February 2011 | San Blas Islands, Panama
Mark
Thursday, 24 February, 2011. More fun under the sea In the morning, Dave, Lisa & I went for a hookah dive on the reef. It is so wide and deep that it really takes several dives to see it all. This time we wore gloves and made a concentrated effort to find lobster. We did not do so well. First I found one, but only got his antenna as he shed it like lizards do their tail and escaped. Later I found two lobsters together. I motioned to Dave and he and I approached from opposite sides, but he accidentally brushed an antenna and they both scooted before we could grab them. Their hiding hole was pretty small and we spent some time trying to force them out but to no avail. It was still a real pretty dive even if not productive. After lunch we went for a final dive here before leaving for Tigre. All four of us went. We saw a small moray eel that was actually free swimming between hidey-holes. The coral is just unbelievable in health and variety both soft and hard. Words don't come close. Hopefully some of Lisa's underwater pictures will come out and we can post them. Sergio never showed up. By 3:00 we weighed anchor and sailed to Tigre, using the engine a couple of times to be sure we cleared a lee shoal. It still amazes me that there are so many shoals that arise from deep water to dangerous depths in the middle of nowhere. We arrived @ Tigre to find 7 other boats anchored. We cruised through the anchorage and then decide to anchor in the second tier behind what used to be an island and is now just a shoal with a bit of concrete sticking up in one place. It did, however, offer excellent protection from the waves and was further from the outhouses that dot the shore and make swimming in the main anchorage questionable. All in all, a very nice spot.
Friday, 25 February, 2011. Viva la revolucion! By 8:00 AM we heard pan flute music calling us to the festivities. We dinghied ashore and joined a group of other cruisers and gringos. Now here is an incredible story: Last year we met a couple of gringos who were staying at the Kuna lodge on Tigre. They were at the revolution celebration and then were getting married by the Kuna in a couple of days. They had to buy 50# of rice and a whole pig to feed the entire island as a fee for their marriage. We were telling Dave & Lisa the story when Dave said, The woman's name wouldn't have been Laura, would it? It was and it turns out that she is Dave's best friend Ian's sister, who, indeed, got married in Kuna Yala last year. That was an amazing small world story, made more so when we met Laura and her now husband Alfred again this year at the revolution as they returned for their anniversary! The festivities were a bit different this year. There were the traditional dances, but no kid dances which we had really enjoyed. For the reenactment, however, this time we started in the congrejo hut with a presentation (with English as well as Spanish translation) of the story and a dramatization of a scene we had not seen last year: A Panamanian teacher came to Tigre to establish a school to teach the children because the Kuna were all ignorant (meaning they did not know Spanish or Panamanian ways.) The villagers debated this and rejected the school saying they had plenty of knowledge of life and nature and had their own language and customs and did not need Panamanian. The teacher returned with police backing to inform them that they WOULD have a school. This was a very pivotal part of the events leading up to the revolution that we had missed last year. The remainder of the reenactment was unchanged from previously and featured lots of moulage and great acting and the Kuna were beat and dragged to jail. When it was over, however, there was no Chicha this year! No real explanation except that they do not always do it and last year was special. This, however, gave us a chance to wander about the island. Both Deb & Lisa bought molas and I found the pandaria (though the Kuna don't call it that) and bought some Kuna bread right from the oven. Back at the boat, we cooled off with a swim and then a beer and then lunch (more beer with Kuna bread and cheese). Then we weighed anchor and sailed a beautiful broad reach all the way back to Corizon de Jesus. We anchored easily. As we were preparing lasagna for dinner, an ulu approached with several large lobsters and many smaller ones. I ended up buying 11 lobster (about half big and half small) for $30. We took several of the smaller ones and made scampi to go with the lasagna. Delicious! Tomorrow Dave & Lisa's flight leaves @ 6:45 so we will be up early. Supposedly our watermaker is FINALLY fixed and so I will send a credit card on the plane to Panama City and they will hopefully process it and send it back with the watermaker on the next flight. In the mean time, the four of us did make it through the week with one tank full of water, so all is good.