San Blas Located on Panama's eastern Caribbean coast is the breathtakingly beautiful San Blas archipelago. 357 small islands inhabited by a proud and self-reliant autonomist group of native American Indians known as the Kuna. Lori and I stayed with them for two nights. The Kuna were considerate and attentive hosts, preparing wonderful meals of crab and fish freshly harvested from the sea and guiding us in dugout canoes to small, uninhabited islands with gorgeous beaches and pristine coral reefs.

The islands are part of the Comarca de Kuna Yala, a semiautonomous homeland of the Kuna people. Kuna territory also encompasses a mountainous strip (orange on the map) of mostly virgin forest on the mainland, along the Caribbean slope of the Darién. It runs the length of the archipelago, ending at the Colombian border.

At left is a picture of a Kuna village that Lori took from the plane while flying up the coast toward our destination.

Flying in at 6:45 am to El Porvenir was a frightening experience, as in a sudden torrential downpour the plane banked perpendicular, wingtip brushing trees. Whilst I peered out the window at treetops that seemed so close I could touch, Lori stared in shocked alarm down the isle way at the open cockpit, windshield wipers at full speed, the pilot's hands frantically flailing about controlling flaps and engine speed to miraculously and blindly land the craft on the small invisible jungle strip.
Once we landed and waited for the rain and our heart rates to subside, our transportation awaited us at the end of the pier... in the form of a dug-out canoe. We were to go to Yandup, a small Island about 15 minutes out in the Caribbean Sea.
Our transport to Yandup

As we motored (we didn't have to paddle) past other islands we saw large thatched huts that the Kuna's erected for tourists. Tourism is fast becoming their prime source of income and you'll see why.

Below, you see images of our little island of Yandup. There were only 4 or 5 small bamboo huts and one large dining hut, the whole island being devoted to visitors. Our new home even boasted of a shower and flush toilet. We had our own sandy beach and of course were surrounded by the warm, crystal clear Caribbean.
"The plane, Boss, the plane, the plane!"
A view through the railing of our deck over the water.
Yandup Island
A view of the interior of our little island.

When we arrived at Yandup island we were led to our bamboo hut (above) which was to be our home for the next few days. Contained within our fenced water garden were fish and sea turtles.

Mouse over the picture above to get a closer view and click to see the new resident. (Much of the imagery in these postings are interactive so be sure to move your mouse pointer over the pictures)

The bamboo walls gave complete privacy yet allowed the sea breeze to keep us cool. We found that we didn't need the netting. You could hear the water lapping against the log posts under the floor.

At left is a view out our front door across the gangway to the island.

At right is our back deck, where we spent our leisure time sipping wine and watching pelicans dive for their supper. Mouse over the deck to see Lori appreciating life after our inbound flight which could only be remembered as a near death experience.

Our first day in San Blas involved two excursions in our trusty canoe; the first into the everglades to look for the elusive wild dogs that live in the trees, the second trip to an exotic island to swim and soak in the sun. We never did see any "tree dogs" but we did see a cayman (small croc). The tropical island was a paradise, as you can see by the images below. Some of these little sand atolls remind one of the cartoons where the castaway is stranded on an island with only a couple of palm trees.

Between these tours of the San Blas area we were wined and dined by the kuna Yala in their communal hut.

The visit to these beautiful islands, set like jewels in the turquoise water of the Caribbean, is one of the most memorable experiences of our visit to Panama. The picture above could be used for any advertisement of a tropical getaway or even as your computer desktop background!

Above you see me taking a picture of someone who is obviously taking a picture of me! (Who kept yelling at me to pull in my stomach!)
A Kuna fisherman and his dog net fish in the lagoon.
Always with a camera, Lori circumnavigates the island.
This fisherman had two octopi for sale ... and me without my wallet!

The water was warm and clear. The Kunas provided mask fins and snorkel gear. As you can see, I got a bit red this day. I quickly found out that the Panamanian sun is very strong.

At the end of the day we returned to our island home to relax before dinner. The Kunas fed us what they caught that day and it was very good.

Evening at Yandup. The first hut you see in the distance is ours.

The first evening back at Yandup we relaxed and salved our sunburned bodies. Our hosts hung hammocks on the deck. It was pure heaven to lay back and watch the sun set in the couple of hours before dinner.

Mouse over the empty hammock to see this sunburned author at his ease!

Lori at the back door to our deck
Our communal dining room
The meals provided by the Kuna Indians comprised of the "catch of the day". Simple fare but plentiful, including an appetizer, main course with salad and desert. There was always juice and water and plenty of home grown coffee. Wine and beer could be purchased for a nominal sum. Our last dinner at Yandup was of King Crab. Magnifico!
Neighboring hut

The next morning, sitting at the front door of my domicile I survey my domain. Ah Ha! A young Kuna Indian princess next door, obviously vying for my attention. I wonder if she has seen my etchings?
Every time she set eyes on me she would yell a Spanish love phrase.... I wonder what "Consiga Perdido!" means? I think it's; "You have abs of steel!"
If only I could speek Spanish. Can anyone translate?

Actually this girl happily posed for Lori when we asked. The Kunas are a very hospitable and friendly people who went out of their way to make our stay memorable.

All transportation by the Kunas are by dug out canoes. They spend much of their lives in these boats, either going from one island to another or fishing. Most are propelled by paddles although we saw a few with makeshift sails. They seemed to spend an equal time bailing water as paddling.
Typical hand hewn canoe used by the Kuna
Although the rain came and went, the sun, when it poked through the clouds, was fierce. At left is a view of our little island and above a picture of one of the seabirds that frequent the area, along with many pelicans.
Yandup Island
Approaching El Porvenir
On our last day in San Blas we visited the main Kuna village of El Porvenir. I found out later that it is actually the capital city or village of all the Comarca de Kuna Yala. The red tiled roof is the church of course, all others are thatched. The village is actually on a crowded island connected to the mainland by a long cement pier. On the mainland there is the airport, school and healthcare facilities.
Late arrivals to Yandup arrange their own transport ... yikes! About an inch of freeboard!
Most Kuna homes back onto the water
The Kuna women are very colorful, always dressed in traditional clothes no matter where they are. They are famous for their hand stitched "Molas" which are sold all over Panama..
We took a picture of the village center stage because of the Kuna Flag painted on the backdrop. The swastika was adopted as their national symbol long before Hitler used it as the symbol of the Third Reich.
It was odd to see the swastika flying above many Kuna huts. These people were so gentle and kind.

A couple of grinning tourists;

"Get over there in front of that hut and smile"!

"Get over in front of those molas and try to look intelligent! Try harder!"

The village was crowded with Kuna Indians. Lori was mobbed with children half the time, all wanting to see their image in her LCD camera viewer.
Star Photographer, Lori Goodwin, makes a hit with the Kuna children.
A Kuna heading back to the village from the jungle on the mainland.
Village life on the edges of El Porvenir... a very close knit society.
(Click on the picture to see a closer view)
My friends of the Kuna Nation (including our boat captain). I'm not quite as dark as they ... yet.
Sunset over Yandup on our last night.

On our last morning while we wait for our airplane transport back to Panama City, we reflect on our stay in San Blas. Pictured above is the causeway from the mainland to the Kuna village of El Porvenir. It was a very memorable visit to one of the many islands of the San Blas Archipelago, a visit which we highly recommend to be a "must do" for anyone visiting Panama.

The next leg of our Panama Journey took us West to the opposite end of the country. We flew from San Blas back to Albrook Airport in Panama City where we caught another regional flight to David where we picked up our rental car. The return flight to Albrook was every bit as nerve shattering as the trip in, as the pilot (no co-pilot this time) who looked as if he had been on the heart transplant list for two years too long, huffed and puffed his overweight pasty gray bulk up the one step into the cockpit, audibly gasping for air with the exertion. We sat directly behind him with our hearts in our mouths. This is a short trailer to our next installment of "Exploring Panama". Be sure to tune in to "Boquete", Panama! (When I've got it together to post it!)

Kuna Village at El Porvenir (The capital of Kuna Yala)

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