Guna Yala

After leaving Cartagena, most of our boats anchored at Islas del Rosario just 10 miles away to stage for  San Blas.  This stop provided a wonderful opportunity to spend some time in the crystal clear water.   Many of us took the opportunity to work on hull cleaning and do some swimming.

Several local boats stopped by to sell their various wares.  Not many cruising boats anchor in this harbor and the local entrepreneurs were thrilled to see us.  We bought coconuts, lobster and jewelry.  We chilled the coconut then used our new machete to open them enough to slip in a straw and enjoy the milk.  The jewelry purchase felt a bit like protection money but thats ok so long as it works.  The lobster was enjoyed that evening aboard Arkouda.  Cynthia and Sean invited all the boats who stayed a second night to Arkouda where we grilled the lobster we had gotten from the boat men.  Milpat had gotten crab too which they kindly shared with all.  As is always the case it turned into quite a feast with seafood and all the side dishes and desserts prepared around the harbor that day.

We weighed anchor early the next morning and arrived in San Blas after a great 23 hour sail over 200 miles.  The wind and seas were strong, but as they were from behind us, quite comfortable.

First stop for Echo was in the Holandes Cays at just after sunrise.  The archipelago consists of over 300 small islands amid the crystal clear water and beautiful white sand.  We organized the boat from the passage and began to explore the beauty of these islands.

The World ARC was also in San Blas and we planned to meet up with some friends in the ARC so we moved on to Lemon Cay the following morning.  It was a very narrow window of opportunity to see them as our paths crossed before they went through the Panama Canal and began their journey across the Pacific.

Echo and Blue moved on to Lemon Cay the next day where we visited with Two Fish, Crystal and Blue Summit – five Antares Catamarans in San Blas at the same time!  We had seen Two Fish and Crystal in Grenada but last saw Blue Summit in Annapolis in 2014.  We rafted alongside Two Fish and everyone met up there for a quick visit before some had to leave for Colon Panama within a few hours.  It was another fun Antares meet up!

Antares Meetup in Lemon Cay

Jeff and Jason with Echo and Two Fish Rafted Together

Echo and Blue

Customs and Immigration at El Proviner

The immigration office is located on El Provenir where the process was quick.  As we were preparing to leave the islands there was discussion of a significant increase of fees in the future. There appears to be a struggle between the Kuna and Panama itself regarding visitors to the islands and this rumor of high fees has been floating around for some time.  We may have been lucky to visit before rumor becomes truth.

I had been confused about the name since you see it as both Kuna Yala and Guna Yala.  (San Blas was the name given by Christopher Columbus and the native people do not use it.)   Apparently the name was officially changed to Guna Yala in 2011 to closer represent the native language.  Guna Yala in Kuna means “Land Guna” or “Guna Mountain”.   Wikipedia)

A Little Guna history according to “The Panama Cruising Guide”  by Eric Bauhaus.

Their Guna forefathers  moved from the mountains to the islands due to various problems such as flooding and war.  Island life offered protection from snakes, wildlife and other tribes.  Over the centuries they faced many trials from invaders and put their foot down in the mid 1700’s.  At that point they signed a treaty with Spanish authorities allowing them to live in peace in the Guna Yala.

After the Republic of Panama was formed in 1903 there was more trouble for them  The new government established “repressive police posts” in their dictatorial system.  The Guna rebelled on February 21, 1925 and their High Chief declared independence.  Thanks to intervention to the US Navy, Panamian retaliation was prevented and on March 4, 1924 an agreement was signed recognizing Kuna Yala as part of Panama but ruled autonomously.  The Guna General “Congreso”  agreed to be part of Panama with the condition their tribal laws, traditions and culture be respected.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Eric Bauhaus gives a great deal on information about the Guna life today but I’ll have to leave it to you for further research if interested.  He also details rules and regulations to adhere to while in the area which appear to be strictly enforced by the Guna.  One example is no diving.  They were quite concerned with seeing dive tanks stored on deck of some boats even tough none of our group did any diving while there.

Life for families in the islands seems to remain quite traditional but modern day convenience is creeping in as more tourists visit these beautiful islands.  It’s not difficult to understand their leader’s efforts to protect the way of life and cultural in these islands.

Although there are many outboard motors in evidence, you often see the Guna paddling about in dugout canoes.  Their homes are huts made from all natural materials and are very basic.  Many women are clad in traditional dress with “Molas” used frequently.  They string small beads to make bracelets for their arms and legs using beautiful, bright colors.

“Mola” means dress or shirt and is an important part of traditional dress for the Guna women and an important source of income today.  Every where you go you see molas on display for sale and many boats will come alongside to show and sell their wares.  They are strong sales people and I’m sure very few boats pass through Guna Yala without purchasing a good supply of Molas.

Our first experience involved a woman in her dugout canoe tying up to our stern and moving her buckets aboard Echo while we were focused on rafting up to Two Fish.  I quickly bought a bracelet and told her to visit again when I was not busy.  You can be sure she did early the next day.

So we bought our share of molas and bracelets during our visit while trying to distribute our purchases over several of our visitors.  Commerce is alive and well in Guna where visiting boats bring molas, jewelry, fruit, vegetables, lobster and fish.  There are often children in the boats and we had treats for them although the mothers would have been happier with crayons, pencils and paper.  From now on I’ll keep a supply of such things on board for kids.  Each shopping opportunity was a welcome opportunity to interact with the local people and we happy to do so!

Guna Family

Visitors

Lobster Shopping

Mola Lisa came for a visit!

The three weeks spent in these islands were quite special.  We shot so many photos but they don’t come close to showing the beauty.  Our time was spent relaxing, visiting with other rally members, swimming, snorkeling and enjoying as much lobster as we could buy from visiting Guna boats.  The rally boats all explored various areas and crossed paths on occasion.

Some of the social highlights included a dinghy raft up off Suzie Too for a concert and sing-a-long; a group snorkeling trip; a few ladies exercise sessions either in the water or on the shore of a nearby island and a few Mexican Train Dominoes games.  There were a few “Suzie Too Sundays” where we met up on a beach for the afternoon to visit and relax.  We lost track of the number of islands we visited and circumnavigated; some we had to walk around a few times just to get a bit more exercise.  The slow pace in Guna Yala also allowed us time to spend getting to know our fellow rally members a bit better and visiting each other’s boats.

All in all, it is a beautiful relaxing area unlike any we have seen so far.  We just hope the unrest between the Guna Yala and Panama along with the rapid incursion of technology and growing tourism does not change things very much.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We have been hampered by lack of sufficient internet for the past several weeks and are therefore quite behind in on blog posts.  Since Guna Yala (aka San Blas) we have visited a few spots in Panama then two more Colombian islands and are now in Roatan Honduras.   We have had some wonderful adventures and will continue trying to bring our posts up to date.

Happy to report that all is well aboard Echo and the rally continues to be quite a great experience.  We expect to leave from Honduras to Belize later this week.  Happy spring to all!

~ JEFF AND MARY ~

nbsp;

f