San Blas 5
15 June 2011 | San Blas
Randy
We are still enjoying life in the San Blas Islands. Our long time friends, Wendy and Jess Meisner, have been with us for the last two weeks marveling at all the wonders here. For them, and myself as well, it is the most different place we have been since we were in West Africa together half a lifetime ago.
Sitting on the boat at anchor dugouts with Kuna men and boys come by selling fish, lobster and fruit, or with women in traditional dress and children selling crafts. Bartering for items in Spanish, which we are making a try at, gets us repeated phrases from the Kuna. We have trinkets for the women and children and our extra clothes for the men and boys. On receipt of these it is not uncommon for them to ask for a shirt if they received a pair of shorts, or for another for someone at home.
There are several villages here that encompass their islands in their entirety. Little laneways weave through the yards of houses and past shops and community huts, most of which are made of cane tied to a frame, with thatched roofs. As we wander by the women rush out with their Molas to sell. Looking in the open doors we see hammocks hanging for beds, cooking pots on walls by an open fire on the dirt floor, and in some, a TV. Those with power have meters mounted on boards or to a stick tied to the hut, the wires run unsupported to the main lines and are spliced in and rapped.
Some days we spend sailing to another tropical is land covered in palm trees, ringed by a little beach. Most days we spent three hours or more snorkeling over the coral reefs looking for lobster or fish for supper. We missed a few monster lobster and crab and speared a few smaller ones, but would have gotten very hungry if we couldn't buy some more.
We took a river tour a ways into the mainland then hiked for several hours over the mountains covered with tropical jungle, flowers, fruit and ants, to a water fall where we had lunch, and jumped of the rocks into the fresh water. The walk back in the hot humid afternoon was splashing down through the river to the local Kuna cemetery where we had left the dugout.
There are forty to fifty other sail boats in the area which makes for some social diversion. We have joined six other couples at a raft up in our dingies for happy hour and potluck supper. Organized by a long time single woman sailor we passed drinks, stories, and plates of food between us. Another night we joined our friends on their boat to celebrate their guest's birthday. After happy hour, with sushi salads and casadias for supper we played maracas and drums while singing along to a Jimmy Buffet concert DVD.
Yesterday we went to the island with the air strip and found the local woman in charge of the flights in her house, there isn't an office, just an air strip. We asked what time to show up. She asked if they had tickets but didn't ask to see them and said half and hour before the plane arrives at 6:30 AM. Standing on the grass beside the runway with Wendy and Jess this morning the agent recognized them and hustled them onto the twelve passenger airplane just as the arriving passengers got off. Nobody asked for tickets or looked at the bags which were being stuffed into the baggage space. On occasion people with tickets have been left behind until the next day's flight because Kuna without tickets have gotten on the plane and taken the seats.
We are on our own now for the next three weeks. After that we head to Colon where we will leave the boat when we fly Back to the Soo at the end of our year of adventure. Thoughts of our return are starting to creep in but not enough of them to depress us yet, we are still having too much fun! Randy