San Blas – a stay in another island paradise
Day 314 Tue 12/7
The long day started at 04:30. Shower, put bag away in storage, wait for taxi. When the taxis did arrive, they didnt have enough space and since I was the only one not in a group, they asked if I could wait for another taxi. It showed up an hour later. This trip has taught me patience and the ability to deal with empty time. I was the only one in the taxi, so it was a very comfortable ride. My driver was a Colombian, nick-named Grande, who had been living in Panama for 20 years. He told me about the city, about Colombian football and also about his love for wrestling. I wasnt aware that there was a giant Indian plying his trade in WWF!
Arrive at the port in 2.5 hours after paying a 6 USD entrance fee and having my passport inspected. The boat to take me to Robinson’s island was waiting. I had two companions, a married couple from Israel, who were celebrating their honeymoon. Ayala was born in Israel, lived in LA for ages and finally moved back to Israel 3 years ago and teaches at the American school in Tel Aviv. Really nice chap and we enjoyed a couple of nice chats that day. Also ran into a couple I had seen in Panama City. Nathan, a physics teacher from Australia and Mari from Costa Rica. They both live and work in San JOse.
The island is inhabited by 6-7 Kuna families and has about 20-25 wooden huts, most of which are for housing tourists. Some of the men speak Spanish. The women are dressed in colourful clothes, but seem shy or dont speak Spanish. They are, however, friendly enough to smile as they pass you.
After a 5 min walk, which took me around the island, it rained very hard. The wind and the rain meant that we all were trapped in our wooden cabañas for an hour before it allowed us to have lunch. Lunch was followed by a nap.
Dinner was rice, lentils and chicken. The moon made it nice to take a walk around after dinner. The reflection of the moon on the water is always something that I find pleasant and soothing.
Slept on the hammock by the water that night as it was warm in my dormitory, which I had all to myself. It was oh-so-nice to see the moon and the stars hovering over me as I slept, swinging gently in the hammock tied between two coconut tress, hoping that there were no coconuts ripe enough to fall on me.
Day 315 Wed 13/7
Breakfast consisted of 3 crackers and hot water! Time for a long session of swimming before heading out of the water to lay on the hammock, reading my book! One of the Kuna folk climbed a nearby coconut tree and threw down coconuts for us. What a lovely way to quench on’s thirst on such a hot morning.
Lunch was tasty and then it was off to the island of dog (Isla del perro). Adding to my experiences, I went snorkelling for the first time in my life. There was a boat wreck in the water close to the island and plenty of fish congregated next to it. I had a great time and enjoyed the experience. I spent a couple of hours in the water, swimming and snorkelling. After that, it was time to head back home. It again started raining on our way back. Since our “shower” consisted on us using a bucket to pour water in a drum over ourselves, I preffered to soap myself in the rain. It helped to wash out the salt water.
Dinner and time chatting with the folks. It rained again after dinner, which meant that we couldnt really see the stars and the moon. Off to bed in my warm cabaña.
Tags: Travel
Damu
July 22nd, 2011 at 22:23
aak! aak! coconut! The top of my most hated foods list. If stranded with nothing else to eat, the debate within myself would drag on for some time – “coconut, or starve to death?”