Isla Pinos, San Blas Islands, Panama

Now that boat projects are complete it is time to leave the beautiful and historic city of Cartagena and head west to the Tahiti of the Caribbean....the San Blas Islands of Panama. It has been ten years since we last were in Panama and Don and I are eagerly anticipating the beauty and isolation of these island jewels. Our overnight trip started off with a slow motor sail and thunder-heads in the distance, including this water spout that seemed to run parallel to our course for longer than we liked. 

A playful school of dolphins, mothers and calves, frolicked between the almas along the way, weaving in and out and granting us the gift of safe passage. An uneventful overnight crossing found us at Isla Pinos at daybreak, one of the eastern most islands of the San Blas and one of the more traditional. 

Located along the east coast of Panama the archipelago of San Blas encompasses hundreds of palm tree studded islands only a few miles from the mainland. An independent nation within the country of Panama, the San Blas Islands are home to the indigenous Kuna Indians. The nation of the Kuna Yala has worked hard to preserve their culture and traditions and continue to adhere to their simple way of life despite the influences of modern society. 



Living in huts made of wood and thatched palm fronds with dirt floors and no indoor pluming, everyone seems to have a cell phone, satellite television dishes are plentiful, and the village generator is dependent on the daily fluctuating fuel supply.

The main population lives on the offshore islands and then traverses a few miles to the mainland daily where they have small farms surrounded by miles of untouched virgin rainforest. Pineapples, coconuts, papaya, avocados, sugar cane, lobster and bananas can sometimes be found for sale from individuals who silently paddle along side in dugout canoes called ulus. Ashore shopping in the villages is rather sparse, occasionally a carrot or potato, and the abundance of plastic bottles filled with sugary drinks is a blunt reminder of the influence of modern society.

Happy we are to be back in the Kuna Yala.