Chichimay, San Blas
25 February 2012
Now why is it that no one warned us to make sure you pick your time when heading to San Blas from the West? As predicted the winds were rising, but we had no idea that the swell could truly be as large as forecasted, 3-4mts! At least the winds were never over 22kts. The skies were hazy and on one occasion a volumous amount of water poured on us, which we welcomed to wash away the dust of Colon. A bumpy unsettled 9 hr. ride, got us to the isloated island of Chichmay. We found as much shelter as we could from the howling winds, the coconut trees struggling against the winds. Stayed on the the outer side of the leeward island.
San Blas is home to the indigenous Kuna Indians, which are one of the few remaining authentic indians in the Americas. They are short, and slender, extremely friendly and happy, beaming immaculate white sets of teeth. The ladies generally dress in their original colorful garments of various molas. They arrive to your yacht rowing their dug out ‘ulu’s’ selling you these applique swatches of fabric, made by sewing and cutting different layers of cloth.
We were very lucky that Venancio, the master ‘mola’ maker, who is gay, (Being gay, or even a transvestite, is totally accepted in the Kuna culture) came by our boat, with his young driver, and showed us over 50 of his molas. He carries the higher prices, but his craftsmanship is unparalleled. It was tough to decide which to buy.