After a few hectic weeks in Southern California, Orange County to be exact, we were in need of a VACATION! Nothing goes to weather better than a 747 so, armed with some airline tickets and an invitation from our friends on SV ZEN, we were off to TONGA!
We arrived in time for the victory celebration after the Vava'u Regatta, two birthday parties, and the annual visit of the humpback whales which come to the warm waters to give birth to their calves.
Tonga is one stop on the way to New Zealand, Australia, or points further west, as cruisers on the "Milk Run" gather here to wait for a weather window to open for the sometimes brutal dash to NZ before the cyclone season begins.
We took advantage of our short time there, getting in a bunch of diving, swimming with the whales, biking the local roads, having Sunday lunch after church with a local family, and even tasting the local brew, KAVA (I think I'll stick with beer!)
All in all, a great chance to visit this part of the world without Tara Vana, which patiently awaits our return to her in Cartagena next week.

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We can hear the roar of the huge breakers crashing on the outside reef. Smell the sweet salt air. Feel the sea breeze on our faces. And as we look around us, we are just overcome by the natural beauty of this place.

For the last five months, we have been sailing and exploring in the San Blas Islands, an archipelago of about 360 islands along the Caribbean coast of Panama. The islands are gorgeous; most are small and uninhabited, with white sand beaches and swaying palms. The islands are protected by miles and miles of barrier reef, giving us delightful sailing conditions, with strong trade winds and flat seas. We could explore these islands for years. This is truly a cruiser's paradise!
The San Blas Islands are in Kuna Yala, the territory of the Kuna Indians, one of the 7 indigenous Indian tribes of Panama. The Kunas live on 48 of the larger islands here, and collect coconuts from the smaller islands. They still live as they always have, with their own religion, their medicine men, and their ancient customs.

This Kuna woman was happy to pose for us, as we offered to print the picture and give it to her. Notice the gold ring in her nose, a sign of beauty. Around her torso she has wrapped a "mola", a hand-stitched reverse appliqué that is unique to the Kunas. This one took her 3 months to stitch, and has birds and animals and traditional geometric shapes on it. The Kuna women adorn their arms and calves with strings of beads, to ward off evil spirits. In the background are the family huts, made of bamboo sticks, with palm frond roofs.

The Indians are friendly and welcoming. Though most had minimal formal education, they seem quite intelligent, and hard working. There is a sense of peace and tranquility as we walk around the villages. The children often follow us, and giggle when we try out some of our newly-learned Kuna phrases with them!!! Many of the men speak at least a little Spanish, especially those who trade with the Colombian trading boats that bring rice and flour and such to trade for the Kuna's coconuts.

The Kuna women cook over an open fire, feeding their families mostly fish, rice, coconuts and plantains... which is really what we've been eating too! Except when, now and then, a young Kuna man from the biggest island in this area, Nargana, comes out to the outer islands with fresh produce to sell to the cruisers!!!!! What a treat that is!

The water is gorgeous here, so warm and clear, and we are constantly swimming or free-diving. The reefs are teeming with life, and we feel fortunate to be able to observe and discover. We do eat fresh fish nearly every day, as Rick has become a better fisherman...at first we were lucky if he caught a little appetizer! Now, it's fish soup, fish pasta, fish patties, and the good old standby of just BBQed filets....!
In the 1920's, the Kunas staged a bloody revolution against the government of Panama, and won the right to self-rule. Now each village is led by a 'sahila', or chief. Each island village has a large hut, called the 'congresso', where nightly village meetings are held to discuss events and solve problems. No one is allowed to speak directly to the sahila during the congresso, so there is a 'translator'. The sahila lays in a hammock, as do many of the elders, who have been known to fall asleep during some of the less exciting meetings! Every few months, the sahilas from all the islands meet for a general congresso, to discuss issues that affect all of Kuna Yala. There are no police. No jails. There is no crime. It's so refreshing.

The Kuna men spend much of their time fishing. They use a dugout canoe, called an 'ulu', which they sail downwind, and row upwind. The sails are made of an odd assortment of fabrics, though sometimes we see an ulu with a sail made of nice sailcloth...most likely a donation from a fellow cruiser.

The men row or sail their ulus to the mainland to fetch fresh water from the rivers, as there is no water on the islands. Just outside each family hut, you'll find several barrels of fresh water; cups are dipped into the barrels to get water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The women make regular trips to the rivers to do laundry and bathe...some of the islands are far from the mainland rivers and we see the women expertly handling their ulus, even in the roughest of conditions.

In addition, each family grows some fruits and vegetables along the banks of the mainland rivers which meander through the dense rainforest of the Darien Wilderness. They tend to grow yucca, plantains, mangos, pineapple, papaya, and a red rice that they grind into meal. They also ferment the rice to make a strong alcoholic drink called 'chicha', which is drunk at festivals and ceremonies, to help drive away evil spirits. Sometimes they hunt the wild boar and wild turkey in the mountains, to supplement their fish diets.

What a tranquil life it has been here. Intense natural beauty. Interesting Kuna culture. Endless hours exploring underwater. Making homemade yogurt. Eating fresh fish. Easy sailing between islands. Star gazing at night. And best of all, time to just be together.

However.....a few good thunderstorms reminded us that we'd best head back to Cartagena for the rainy season....there's just too much lightning in the San Blas summers for our liking! Before leaving the San Blas, one of our new Kuna friends, Bredio, gave us a 'nuchu', a small Kuna figure that he carved from local balsa wood that will ward off evil spirits and protect us.

Our 36 hour sail back to Cartagena was, like everything we do, an adventure. As we started out, we enjoyed a glorious sail in nearly perfect conditions. But a series of squalls, with high winds from different directions, churned up the sea, making the next leg of the trip rough and uncomfortable. At night, the wind died completely, so we had to motor....yuck! The last leg of the passage, we again enjoyed ideal conditions. And, to our delight, a pod of spinner dolphins came to welcome us to Colombia! Spinner dolphins are smaller and more acrobatic than the better known Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, and they put on quite a show as they jumped high out of the water, doing
spins and flips that would get high grades at Sea World!

Ami & Rick

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