We left Kokomo early this morning and motor sailed to Isla Maquina to pick up our guide to see Kuna ceremonies. The guided Idelphonso is a nice young man who had brought his brother the master mola maker to the boat Sunday.
When we picked him up he brought his nephew and suggested a nearby island as a better place for the ceremony. So off we went.
The island of Soddad Miria turned out to be a surprise. Anchored behind we went ashore in the dingy and went to find the chief to ask permission. For $2 bucks we were brought into a dark wooden longhouse of very crude construction. The women were all dressed in native costumes of Molas on shirt and skirts, beaded leggings, and colorful head scarves. They wear a thin black line painted from top of the nose to chin down the center of their face and often some gold jewelry as a nose ring.
The men are dressed in cast off western clothes. Surfer shorts and Tee shirts. The only ceremony we saw was everyone getting drunk. The history goes back to a fermenting of sugar cane, however rum is cheap and better so they buy cases of cheap rum. However, holding a conversation with drunk people in your own language is difficult when in Spanish or Kuna next to impossible! We had enough and retired to our boat. The young boy stayed with his grandmother and uncles on the island and Indelphonso came back to the boat.
The whole experience was Natural Geographic meets the cell phone age.
This was a native village of huts built of small pieces of wood and palm frond roofs. They were cooking on open fires with dirt floors, and hammocks for sleeping. Children were running around naked, bare chested women, and public bathing on the beach. This contrasted with TV antennas, cell phones, and solar panels. The other sad observation is that the garbage is dumped in the sea which years ago may have been ok, but today with plastic packaging it isn't going to degrade and is piling up in three feet of crystal clear water.
The people were shy but friendly and it was a privilege to get a glimpse at their culture.