San Blas Islands, Panama Coast

From Santa Marta, we headed for the San Blas Islands. The trip was rough and there were several more unladylike epithets hurled at the universe but the destination was worth the journey.

View through my porthole

There are hundreds of islands in the San Blas group, each more picturesque than the last.They are inhabited by the Kuna Indians who have attempted to preserve their culture against the tide of civilisation and when we were last there in 1987, they were pretty much succeeding.

Kuna Indian lady Circa 2013

Today the Kunas are far more streetwise and the mighty dollar is starting to feature strongly in their ethos. They now charge yachts a fee to anchor off their idyllic islands and sometimes, another fee to come ashore. In the more inhabited atolls, we were regularly visited by Kunas in dugout canoes offering seafood or molas for sale.

The seafood was eagerly purchased....enormous crayfish and spiny crab were frequently on the menu on Legend IV. The moray eels were politely declined.

Slumming it in San Blas

In spite of his best efforts, the crayfish was not caught by the skipper himself..

The molas are colourful, reverse applique embroidery pieces which are traditional items of clothing for the Kuna women. On our previous trip I purchased a mola blouse directly off the washing line of the woman who had made it!

but he did a great job of cooking it!

The blouse was unpicked and framed and is still on our wall at home today. I bought a few more on this trip to add to the collection but the Indians have learnt that the tourists will pay big bucks for their handicrafts and they no longer blow in the island breezes  on washing lines.

Nellie choosing Molas from travelling sales ladies

Life's a beach...had to say it sometime!

In spite of the advent of commercialism in the San Blas, the islands are still very special. The snorkeling was excellent..lots of rays and barracudas and some spectacular live coral gardens. We spent most of our time in the outer islands where there are fewer yachts and fewer persistent Indians.

Sailing...hi tech and lo tech

The advent of the internet has ensured that spots where there is no signal are avoided by many boats, leaving the more beautiful and unspoilt anchorages without internet to those of us who are not quite slaves to Microsoft or Apple ..or blogspot!