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!