Sailing in the San Blas

Since school is about to start, we decided to do a sneak a 3-day jaunt in the San Blas Islands.  They are located on the Eastern Caribbean side of Panama - close to Columbia.  If you were wondering what heaven looks like - this is probably as close as it gets in real life...  Clear blue waters, hundreds of deserted coconut palm islands with white sandy beaches, 85 degree water, indigenous canoe cultures, snorkeling sunken shipwrekcks.  It's hard not to relax here. And no that's not a postcard... its a picture I took with my iphone.

The San Blas is a part of the Kuna Yala native territory and is a 30 min flight or 2.5 hr drive from Panama City.  We decided to drive since I thought it would be fun to see more of this beautiful country.  We took the road to Carti which is paved the whole way now and has a new bridge so you don't need to drive through the river anymore.  Although paved and bridged, you still need to watch out for the occasional pothole.

Luckily we made it past the potholes, bridges, and probably the craziest roller coaster road I've ever driven and parked at our destination and jump-off point - Carti.  From Carti we loaded our gear onto a native hand-carved panga boat and were taken to meet our charter.

Our sailboat charter was owned and operated by a wonderful young family of cruisers from the US.  George, Melinda, and Josh have been living on their catamaran 'Southern Belle' in the San Blas for 2 years and host the occasional charter group.  Since our host family had a 10-year-old son, it worked out perfectly so the kids each had someone to play with.  George and Melinda have been quite active with the Kuna community and have made friends with many of the natives.

I'm a boat lover so here's a few details about the boat: Southern Belle is a 1995 Fountain Pajot, Venezia-42 catamaran sailboat.  There are 4 double private cabins with closets, 2 in each hull.  In the center bridge-deck is a spacious saloon/galley that can seat 8 adults at the table.  The cockpit can easily seat 12 and also has a dining table.  Weather

protection for the cockpit is provided by a fixed bimini/dodger with removable plastic windows and screens. Ample space for lounging and sunning is available on the forward nets. The boat is the shiz.. Heck, it was even featured in Sailing magazine Read more...

Mr G showing off a Kuna classroom - 2nd grade

I must say we were lucky to have hosts with such great connections because it afforded the opportunity to get up close and personal with their Kuna friends and their communities.  Seemed like everywhere they went - the Kunas knew George and Melinda and were gracious to invite us onto their islands to visit.  We got to see how the Kuna indians live, their homes, kitchens, classrooms, pets, traditions, and family.  Special thanks to 'Mr. G' (who took the above picture of the fam riding in the single column panga-canoe, and is shown in the adjacent picture in the white shirt) for sharing his home and island traditions with us.

Kami's new friends

Local fisherman holding up a squid

Here are a few more images of some of the islands that we visited.  At each island we anchored, we swam, played in the white sand, played with starfish, snorkeled the coral reef, and drank Panama beer.   The scenery is difficult to believe because it looks like something out of a travel magazine.  Surreal is an understatement when sun goes down in the san blas.  For those of you who enjoy tropical getaways that are a little more of the beaten track - I recommend the San Blas Islands. -Chris