Kuna Yala in San Blas
Our final trip in Panama was to the San Blas islands, which is home to the Kuna Indians. The Kuna are the only inhabitants on the San Blas islands, which comprises somewhere around 365 islands. This area is similar to Indian reservations in the US in that they have they own set of laws and are not governed by the Panamanian government. They highly restrict what visitors are allowed to do and where they are allowed to go when they come to their islands (many of the islands are uninhabited). Each picture you take of a Kuna woman in traditional dress costs $1.00. The Kuna women are the makers of Molas, traditional weavings sold all over Panama. They also still wear their traditional clothing: a red and yellow scarf on their head, a blouse made out of one of their molas, a skirt, a gold ring in their septum and their legs are wrapped in beads. See some pictures here: http://thorup.com/cuna.html
Molas for sell on Isla Pelicano, San Blas
Normally when people go to San Blas you pay one price per day which includes a hotel room, 3 meals per day and transportation to other islands for swimming and snorkeling. We flew out to El Porvenir for 3 nights and took trips to 2 other islands – Dog Island and Pelicano. The planes leave Panama City at 6:00 AM and it is just a short 30-minute flight in a tiny 25 passenger plane to the islands.
The islands we visited were postcard perfect islands covered in palm trees and surrounded by white sand and crystal clear water. These islands are the quintessential paradise island. We spent 2 days on Dog Island, which has a ship wreck and great snorkeling just off shore. The other day we spent on Pelicano which was roughly the size of half of a football field. We slung our hammock between two palm trees, swam and snorkeled all day long.
One evening we took a boat over to a Kuna community. The entire island is covered in bamboo huts with roofs thatched with palm fronds. It was interesting to walk through their community and see a bit of daily life. The Kuna believe strongly in respecting nature and to use it only to survive. They own a portion of land on the Panamanian mainland and leave it as untouched jungle. They venture out there to hunt when they need to. Most of their diet consists of food from the ocean and coconuts. They barter with these commodities to acquire other goods. One of the nicest things about this area is that there are no mega-resorts and extremely few tourists. The Kuna are able to subsist on these islands without selling out their land for tourism. As such it remains amazingly untouched, clean and preserved.
One other unusual thing about the Kuna is that they have the highest rate of albinism of any community in the world. Roughly 1 out of every 200 births is an albino child. We saw 3 albinos in the 3 days we spent here. Albinos are treasured in this society. Unusual since they look so out of place with their yellow hair, mangled mouths and pinkish skin.
I’m sorry if this hasn’t made the most interesting blog entry. It is hard to write about this experience. A lot of what makes this place so special is learning about their Kuna society and then actually visiting the islands and spending some time there. They inhabit one of the most beautiful places in the world and have been able to resist the change and development that so often occurs in spots like this (Acapulco, Cancun, etc.) It’s probably best that you read a little about the Kuna. The website I mentioned earlier gives a nice short summary. After that take a look at some more pictures we put up on our flickr site. Really, the pictures speak for themselves.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebays/
You really won’t believe what you see. I look at them myself and I can’t believe we were actually in a place so spectacular.
Tags: Panama, San Blas
lotzbay
Hi Allison, We are following your trip. We visited the Kuna too. It is just as you say. We visited the village. Did you notice, fresh water in, no plumbing out. Don’t eat the fish close to the island. We encountered two LDS on mission there. They stuck out more than the albinos. Caroline bought one of the beaded armbands. Not easy to put on. Stay safe. Change the oil.nr–Tom
you’re pictures of san blas are beautiful? my boyfriend and i will be traveling to panama in two weeks and are planning a trip out there?
how did you organize your trip and where did you stay? we are considering taking a tour…
i look forward to following you on your family’s journeys!
your pictures are just the way i remember it. i lived in kuna nega for two months and during my stay we went to dog island. while there i went diving in the wreckage. it something that i recommend everyone to do. well hope to see more pictures to bring back my own memories.
Hi Josh
You said you lived at Kuna Nega for two months. I am going there in January to help with Habitat for Hmanity.
Any advise you can give me?
andy
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