The San Blas Islands

Only a day's sail from the Panama Canal itself, the San Blas are a group of over 300 small islands stretching along about 60 miles of the Panamanian coastline, although part of Panama, the islands are controlled by the indiginous population of Guna Indians who have managed to successfully preserve their traditional way of life.  No non-Guna can invest in industry, buy property or intermarry with the locals. The Guna Indians, who number about  55,000,  refer to the islands and the associated mainland as Guna Yala, they do not like the name San Blas, as it was imposed by the Spanish invaders in the 17th Century.  The Guna were granted full administrative and judiciary powers in the 1950's, they have their own constitution and the area is an official reserve, however there are still movements towards complete independence from Panama.  The mainstay of the economy is coconuts, visitors are absolutely prohibited from collecting even fallen coconuts.

 

One of the small San Blas Islands - a sandbar, a few coconut trees and a hut, protected by the outlying coral reef.

Navigating in the San Blas is a whole new experience for us, not only do the sand bars move, but the chart software is frequently incorrect and the depth changes dramatically.  You really do have to rely on your eyesight and close observation of the water colour - not the place to be trying to navigate at night!

 

Our first anchorage - it was blowing about 25kts, the holding was good and we were in calm water, protected from the breaking waves by the coral reef.

 

The next day the wind had dropped and we were able to kayak to the island and walk round it, which took about 20 Minutes.  There are paths across the island and in common with many of the islands the ground has been cleared for the collecting and managing of the coconut palms.

 

Our first anchorage in the San Blas islands.

The Guna travel between the islands and the mainland in Ulus, dug out canoes. The ulus are used for fishing, and in almost any direction you will see a couple of them either line fishing or diving for spiny lobster, crab and conch.

 

A traditional Ulu

 

A sail is rigged for down wind travel, the paddle now being used as a rudder.

 

The Guna learn the art of paddling at a young age, and the ulu looked as if it had been passed down through the generations - it only just floated!

The locals offer to sell us  spiny lobster and fish on a daily basis.   Scuba diving is totally prohibited in the islands, and tourists are prohibited from catching  their own lobsters or other shellfish.

 

This man is selling lobster, cigarettes and apparently fuel.  His Ulu has been adapted to take an outboard.

The arrival of invading foreigners in the mid 1700's was when the trade in Coconuts began, and and also the introduction of colourful cotton fabrics.  Apart from fishing and managing their coconuts and other crops on the mainland, the Guna create Molas which are panels of embroidery and applique fabric in geometric designs worn by the women, they are now much more colourful than in the early days and include designs of fish, plants, animals and planets.  The Mola sellers tend to be women, dressed in traditional costume, usually accompanied by a small child, and they can be very insistant!

 

An Ulu piled high with Molas makes a sale at one of the few charter boats in the San Blas.  The ladies are wearing panels of Molas, and holding up a selection of their handiwork for you to buy for about $25 a panel.

 

Molas.  We now own two - it's very hard to say NO!

Many of the uninhabited islands have a couple of huts on them, a place for the local coconut farmers and fishermen to hang their hammock for a rest.  The huts are traditionally constructed from cane and woven palm leaves, they are apparently waterproof and the roofs last for about 15 years, much longer than corrugated iron which has been used on some huts.

 

It's like something from 'The Little Prince', the book by Antione de Saint-Exupery, but with islands instead of planets.

 

Sunrise over the coconuts

On the few inhabited islands there is literally no land left - it is completely covered with houses, many of the traditional construction but also some with corrugated roofs.

 

 

Wash day.

 

The petrol station - Fuel is sold by the Gallon

 

The buildings go right up to the water's edge - there is no margin for sea level rise on these islands, they would be completely flooded by even the smallest increase in water level.

We have now spent two weeks here, during which time we have visited a couple of dozen islands, kayaked around quite a few of those and snorkelled on the reefs.  We've seen lots of eagle rays, some large nurse sharks and beautiful coral - we have thoroughly enjoyed our time on these islands where life has remained unchanged for many years, but we have seen enough palm trees for now and will soon be heading towards Shelter Bay Marina and the Panama Canal.

 

One final photo - a screen shot from our chart plotter showing us clearly anchored on land, (the beige colour) having crossed over a large area of drying sand bank (the green).  Don't trust your charts here!  

Cartagena - One of Columbia's finest Cities

In order to visit Colombia in your own yacht, as well as the usual customs and immigration formalities, you require a cruising permit and must also temporarily import the yacht - and it must be done using a local agent.  Our paperwork was duly completed, and our stated departure date arrived so unless there is an important reason you can't leave, you have to sail within 24 hours - so despite the windy forecast, off we set for Cartagena, 110Nm along the coast.  We woke to the sound of wind howling in the rigging, fortunately we had lots of help to leave the pontoon (thanks Hugh and Paul) and all went well - we headed off just under Genoa, and quickly realised it was a job for our tiny Staysail instead.  We were doing 8kts with 14sq m of sail - in fact when we furled it in completely in order to gybe we were still doing 5 kts!  We were arriving at our destination way too early and were going to arrive in darkness - not ideal!  The wind gods were on our side - the wind dropped completely at about 0300 and we gently motored through the narrow 'small vessel' entrance into the Cartagena Bay.

 

Cartagena!  We checked the charts to make sure we'd not arrived in Miami by mistake ...

 

We weren't sure that the Cruise Ship arriving in the Commercial Port on the other side of us would have been quite so impressed with their view at sunrise!

The City of Cartagena was originally founded in 1533 on the site of a Carib settlement, but was destroyed by fire 20 years later - after that time, all buildings had to be constructed of stone, brick and tile.  The city prospered and naturally became a target for Pirates, including our own Sir Francis Drake who sacked the port in 1586 then graciously agreed not to raise the city to the ground for the payment of 10 Million Pesos!

Following this attack, the Spaniards built protective forts and over the next 200 years the 13km city wall was constructed - the town flourished, and declared independence from Spain in 1810 - unfortunately this resulted in 9 years of fighting during which time 6000 inhabitants died - finally, in 1819 Simon Bolívar's troops defeated the Spanish and the country reclaimed it's independence from Spain.

The old city really is the highlight of any visit to Cartagena - not only is the architecture stunning, but it really is a bustling and fascinating warren of tiny roads (too many cars) street vendors, restaurants, shops and museums.

 

Approaching the inner city walls, yellow Torre del Reloj (Clock Tower) can be seen behind the walls.

 

Fruit and Coconut Water vendors

 

Many of the vendors are licensed, with photo ID's at their plot.

 

I'm sure they had exactly the same hats for sale in the Mediterranean!

 

Definitely one for the Tourists!  Selling Mochillos whilst wearing the traditional white outfit of the Indiginous People.

 

Not sure if any traditional costumes actually looked like this, but she was very colourful.

 

And rather less traditional ...

 

Modern statues depicting the traditional way of life in one of the Piazzas.

 

A food vendor heading for his plot.  A traditional way of earning an income that is still very much in evidence both in the touristic areas of the old city and in the modern city itself.

 

Despite the 30+ Centigrade temperature, fresh fish is sold on many street corners in the less 'touristy' areas of the old town.

 

The Cathedral - to give it's full title, The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria - the building was attacked by Sir Francis Drake during it's construction, but fortunately it survived

 

One of the many well preserved old Colonial buildings in Cartagena

 

 

A door knocker

 

And another one - of a more indiginous style

 

The Catholic Faith is much in evidence - Cartagena was  one of the centres of the Infamous Spanish Inquisition, a 200 year period of persecution and torture imposed by the Catholic Church on all those they deemed 'Heretics'

 

This Courtyard, with a beautiful view of the Cathedral, is in the site of the Court of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, founded in 1610, and contains a replica Guillotine and gallows - the court here investigated, tried and punished almost 900 people over a 200 year period.  Amongst other 'crimes' the Catholic Faith considered witch craft, heresy, sorcery, reading of forbidden books, bigamy and Judaic practices to be punishable acts of Heresy.

 

The city walls - not quite as impressive as Dubrovnik, but very nearly, especially with the fantastic 'Miami' background.

Despite the city walls, the threat of foreign invaders was constant - in order to stave off a possible British attack, work commenced on the San Felipe Fortress - construction continued for 200 years - the last attempt to take Cartagena was made by the English Admiral Edward Vernon in 1739, he was conclusively defeated at the San Felipe Fortress and no further European attempts have been made on Cartagena.

The fortress is huge, and dominates the city - one of the more interesting features is the network of tunnels that connect the various areas of the fortress with the city.  Explosives could be detonated beneath the enemy's feet in the case of an attack.

 

One of the centry look outs, and to the right of the photo the entrance to one of the tunnels.

 

Inside one of the tunnels..

As threats of attack receded and systems of warfare changed, the fortress fell into disrepair and was even used as a quarry.  The Nation took it over in the late 1880's, and in 1928 repairs and reconstruction began.  It remains in state control, and the revenue from the entrance charges is used to pay for the ongoing maintenance.

 

The Colombian flag flies proudly from the one of the higher Battery's of the San Felipe Fortress.  The city walls can be seen in the distance, surrounding the old town.

We have spent several very enjoyable days in Cartagena, not only visiting the old city, but we have also been able to catch up with our walking friends again - Annie and Hugh on Vega  as well as Paul, Jayne and Lily on Delphinus.  Lovely as it is here, we really want to get back into clean water and peaceful anchorages.  We plan to leave tomorrow for the San Blas Islands, we just have to choose which of the 365 we should visit!

Santa Marta continued ....

The last blog entry was all about The Lost City, and ignored the delights of Santa Marta itself:  It should not be overlooked, Santa Marta has endless , a fascinating combination of high sophistication and rustic Latin American charm.

 

A city where you can buy nets of satsuma from street vendors for 1000 pésos, that's about 30p in UK money.

 

Or mangos - cut up and ready to eat.

The pavements are crowded with vendors - you could buy almost anything along the main streets, and have a complete meal as well.

One of the indoor markets - these are a selection of the Mochillas, the traditional bags used by the Indiginous population to carry their Cocoa leaves and other possessions.

The traditional bags, made from wool and plant fibres are the muted colours - the bright ones are made of cotton.  I now have a blue one.  

The street art is in a class of it's own

This is a painting of one of the main Piazzas in the town, The Parque de los Novios - the artist's name and phone number are painted onto the scene, in case you want a mural of your own.

Unfortunately despite the beauty and charm of much of the city, the drainage left something to be desired and because the port is a major coal exporter the yachts, and everything else, was always covered with a thick layer of black grit and dust.  In the backstreets, rubbish was certainly an issue.

 

The streets themselves were kept clean by a continuous army of road sweepers, and rubbish was regularly collected from the bins but sadly clearing of any other areas doesn't seem to feature.

 

The absolutely splendid Santa Marta Marina - no rubbish in sight!  

 

The marina being used as a backdrop for wedding photos - plus the not unusual sight of two people perched on a bicycle.

 

The town beach - fully appointed with sunshade cubes, chairs, tables and of course an endless supply of vendors should you be hungry, thirsty or just fancy a new hat, necklace, pair of sunglasses, t-shirt ...

One of the highlights of the town was the Musée del Oro which gave much of the history of the Ciudad Perdida and also housed several of the gold and ceramic artefacts found at the site.  A must see destination, especially for any one who plans to visit the Lost City itself.  Apart from that, the town was a labyrinth of little streets and one in particular was restaurant alley - great atmosphere and huge choice of very reasonably priced restaurants.

 

And where else could you possibly expect to find a uniformed supermarket employee push your shopping back to your boat for the price of a cup of coffee?

Next stop:  Cartagena, 110Nm down the coast