San Blas Island, Panama

The past few days we have spent our time in The San Blas Islands, a large archipelago on Panama’s Caribbean coast. The 340 islands are the home of The Kuna Indians. We have enjoyed the untouched virgin rainforests and a cruising ground of incredible beauty.

Nester and his beautiful Kuna family approached Anna Mae as we anchored out side of Isla Porvenir. We traded various items and they invited us to visit their village.  They cooked us a delicious dinner of fish, rice and beans. 

The Kuna women dressed us up in authentic Kuna clothing.  They painted a black line on our noses and  wrapped us up in their famous authentic mola stitched bodices.  

 

The Crew of Anna Mae and SpringDay with some of the Kuna children in the village we visited.

I found a new home for my Valentine Teddy.
Caroline a sweet little Kuna Indian girl fell in love with it and us with her.
She has so much personality and likes to repeat everything I say back to me in English. I couldn't even begin to communicate with her in Kuna, but I tried and she giggled at me...

Bill and I with Caroline and her new teddy.

Nester gave Bill and Tom a sailing lesson. 

The one log canoe carved from Columbian timber is The Kuna's favorite mode of transportation. Bill had a lot of respect for Nester's ability to manuever his boat, with a paddle and sails.

Nester managed to hop on our SUP and paddle around the boat on his first try. His balance is amazing after all the years of practice he has had on the water.

Taking a photo of a Kuna woman is not allowed, but I did manage to get a couple candid shots.

Bill played basketball on the makeshift court in the middle of the island, next to their school.

We anchored out on several of the islands. The water was clear and I added to a few new shells to my collection. Sand dollars, starfish and conch shells lay littering the coral and white sandy beaches of San Blas. We dove a shipwreck on one of the outlaying islands.

Fishing is a major source of income for The Kuna Indians.

Anna Mae and crew are settled into Shelter Bay to organize and plan the next leg of our journey up to North Carolina.