Spine Pain
28 September 2013 | Eastern Holandes Cays (The Swimming Pool), Kuna Yala (San Blas), Panama
Vicki – Air 26C/79F, Water 30C/86F, Cloud 8/8, Wind 8 kn SW, Distant Storms
It appears that Maynard has achieved a bit of a World Record. About a week ago while beaching his stand-up paddleboard, he stepped barefoot onto a “nest” of sea urchins and the spines went into the underside of his foot. “Ow, I’ve just cut myself,” he said but when he looked at his foot, he saw black spines protruding which he tried to brush away. Then the pain and swelling set in. We rushed back to Vanish, checked our medical books and internet and started treatment which consisted of a priority large rum and coke and soothing music while I donned a headlamp and grabbed tweezers and a magnifying glass to help me see the spines. After two hours, I’d only managed to pull out four spines and actually pushed two others deeper which didn’t go down well with the patient. There are no doctors within cooee distance so we needed to get the situation under control immediately. Digging them out was impossible. We alternated between soaking his foot in hot vinegar then hot water mixed with salt and antiseptic. The internet stated that if there were more than one spine injury we should seek medical assistance. Maynard had 45 embedded spines. We have a large store of antibiotics which we would have used but after 2 days of soaking and using rubbing alcohol and Betadine, the swelling went away. After 30 days the spines are supposed to dissolve under the skin. In these remote areas we know we have to be very proactive with any medical issues as they can quickly get out of hand.
The Kuna Indians have a long and interesting history. There are 340 islands in this 20 mile stretch and associated mainland territory called Kuna Yala and the Kuna Indians effectively control this quarter of Panama. There are no roads on the mainland area here at all. In fact, we’ve read in our Panama Cruising Guide by Eric Bauhaus, a must for cruising in this area that there are many places no human has ever set foot. The jungle is host to beautiful birds, monkeys and jaguars. The Kunas live on some of the islands and there are a few communities along the coastline. We visited the village of Playon Chico where we hoped to find more delicious Kuna bread and potatoes and to see how the people live. The village huts are packed tightly together and built with cane siding, palm frond roofs and held together by creeper vines with not a nail in sight with floors made of hard packed sand. The door heights are very low and we needed to bend over to enter the doorways. Everything was extremely basic. We were told that 300 adults live in the village but there were too many children to count. As the gene pool is so limited, we estimated that around 5% of the population were albinos. All the villagers treated us kindly and were extremely helpful in showing us around. The village also had a school as we saw children wearing neat uniforms.
Snorkelling is excellent with 30 deg water temperatures and no current to fight against due to the fact that the tidal range is 6 inches to 1 ft. The coral is very pretty but for heaven’s sake don’t touch it like I did when I momentarily lost my brain. Coral stings like hell – sorry for saying hell, but it really hurt eh. For two weeks we’ve experienced low wind but in the last couple of days, we’ve had the chance to sail the Hobie and our new windsurfer. Storms rumble in the mountains, out to sea or overhead almost daily and always between 2 am and 6 am for some reason. We’ve developed the habit of putting all our computers and electronic equipment in the microwaves, our own Faraday Cage to hopefully protect them from lightning strike damage We are currently anchored in a large anchorage at Eastern Holandes Cays known as the Swimming Pool as it’s so flat. There are a few yachts and power boats scattered around. Truly, if you want isolation, a warm climate and low stress, this is the place to be.
Pangas and ulus drop by on a regular basis with locals wishing to sell crabs or lobsters, but yesterday’s panga visit brought Mola Lisa, a well-known Kuna transvestite who embroiders beautiful molas. She is one of 9 children and learned to sew from her mother who handed down all her traditional designs to Lisa. She started sewing at the age of 7 and told me that only the women sew molas while the men fish and tend crops of potatoes, pineapples, yucca and bananas in the mountains. She is an expert on Kuna history and her designs capture the importance of their mythological creatures, sea life, spiritualism and traditional medicine men, women and babies in pretty geometric designs.
During the week, our KVH satellite equipment fatally died meaning we are relying on the boat phone for data and calls, a very expensive option. This means that I can’t post photos at present nor daily Instagrams until we somehow find a replacement unit or go to a marina. Having reliable communication is paramount so we are working on getting back on line as fast as possible.