DAY 16
It was a pretty rough night’s sleep. I had hundreds of sandflies inside my tent and I could see the army of them that was waiting for me on the outside. We manically packed up our gear while unsuccessfully trying to escape the flies. Down on the beach, the bugs were better and our Guna friends were waiting for us with great news.
They had great luck last night fishing and managed to catch plenty langostino and wanted to share it with us. We graciously obliged. What an incredible way to start the day. The generosity we receive will always continue to surprise me.
The forcast for today was the best we had ever seen, and it looked amazing as we were preparing to leave. We were full of excitement, as today we would make it to the region of San Blas islands, the region that made us want to do this trip.
Progress at the beginning turned out to be very slow. We realized quickly that we were paddling over incredible reefs and rock formations. Countless fish and other sea life were swimming below us. Just from the kayak, we could see so much in the crystal clear and smooth water.
Kacper had the wonderful idea to tie the kayaks to our foot so we could swim and snorkle. We swam, pulling the kayaks, for a while as we explored the incredible seafloor.
We arrived at our first island, Porvenir which is the capital. It’s not very much of a capital and pretty much no one lived there. It is where immigration is and other governmental services are. We didn’t stay very long because there was nothing we needed here. From our view, we could begin to see islands in every direction. Some of them were little communities covered in houses and others had nothing but palm trees on them. The closest island was the community of Wichub Wala, the same community as the farm we just stayed on. We decided to go there.
Paddling to Wichub Wala, we got our first real look at a typical Guna island community. They are so unique and incredible. A tiny island, only inches above sea level, completely covered in houses and. buildings. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs full of fish to help sustain their life out here.
We parked our boats on some random beach and walked around to explore the island. I should make a quick note about the flag if you haven’t noticed. This is the original flag of Guna Yala, and yes, it is impossible not to think about the Nazi Swastica when you see it. The Guna adopted this flag in 1925, way before the Nazis adopted the symbol. This symbol has a deep history, with first known uses going all the way to B.C. times. It is seen in many different religions and cultures all over the world. It had a history of very positive meanings but now is connected to a sign of hate and racism.
Needing a place to sleep, we started asking around. The first person we asked connected us with a well-known local, Tito. Tito was very kind and friendly and allowed us to set up our hammocks under a palapa behind his house.
The kids here were very interested in us and followed us everywhere. The full crowd was usually 10-plus.
DAY 17
The weather was pretty rough in the morning. Very strong wind and some scattered showers. We decided to spend an extra day here to wait it out This would end up happening a lot and I’m very glad it did. Yeah, the weather was challenging most of the time, but it forced us to spend more time in the communities and we got to make some wonderful connections.
During the day off, some kids asked me to come to the basketball court with them. Basketball is extremely popular in Guna Yala and most communities have a basketball court where all the kids hang out and play. As a tall white boy, the kids always want to play with me. After dunking on them for a while, somehow I found myself joining the local team for practice.
DAY 18
Our time in Wichub Wala was great, but it was time to start exploring some of the nearby islands. The closest island was about 3km away and we headed that way. From afar it was such a picture-esque island. Covered in palm trees and had a perfect beach all around it. It had a restaurant on it with some people visiting.
We beached and spent some time relaxing and enjoying this heavenly place. We wanted to sleep here so we asked the worker, but their owner wanted us to pay a bit more than we could afford, so we asked about other options. They pointed to another nearby island that they said was uninhabited and that we could camp on with no problem.
It wasn’t as pristine and clean as the last island, but it was our island. There even was a half finished palapa we could use to help protect us from the wind. We happily set up camp and spend the rest of the day not doing much more than relaxing. It is so easy to do nothing but enjoy the views and beaches here.
DAY 19
We started the morning off very slow, cooking breakfast and enjoying the tranquility surrounding us.
Our days usually consisted of paddling for about 2/3 hours until we reached a spot to stop and take a break before paddling another 2/3 hours. Today, we found another dream-worthy uninhabited island for our midday break. We swam, ate some food, and took a nap without a care in the world.
After another few hours of paddling, we arrived on the island of Nargana, a very densely packed island that the communities of Rio Sidra and Marmadub lived on. We tied up our boats at the main dock and walked into the center and it was wild. There were so many people, with music and dancing and so much going on. Being the strange sights we are, we got a lot of attention and had kids following us around. It was a bit overwhelming at first. We found a place to sit down and order a plate of food while we talked and decided what to do. We wanted to stay here but needed first to find somewhere we could stay. We asked someone who then went running around town until they returned with a man named Marco. He said that we could stay with him in an extra room he had. He also asked us why we didn’t want to stay in some cabana on a pretty island somewhere. We explained our goals for traveling were different. We wanted to experience the lives and cultures of people around the world, and this was the best way of doing it.
We spent the rest of the evening walking around with Justin, Marco’s grandson. He was currently going to university in Panama City but was back for a break. It was interesting hearing about his experience, being split between life in Guna Yala versus life in Panama City. He is proud of where he comes from, but he wants to pursue a career and life outside of Guna Yala. He even has a girlfriend who is from the same community, but while they are here they cannot be together due to strict rules of the community.
We ended the evening hanging out in the center, the most popular part of the island.
The kids loved being in front of the camera and all crowded around me to see the results. They were all very photogenic.
DAY 20
Kacper woke up the next morning feeling a bit ill. We decided it was best to spend an extra day so he could recover. While he was resting, I got the chance to learn more about Guna life.
After breakfast, I talked to Marco’s wife, Altagracia. I learned from her that women hold a lot of power in Guna Yala. They are the owners of most of the land and make a lot of the rules. The ownership of the many islands was first come first serve sometime ago when tourism was growing and they realized the islands could be used for that. Altagracia’s mother claimed two islands that now belong to her and Marco. One of them has some cabanas and is a small resort, and the other is a restaurant where a lot of sailors anchor. They were relatively successful compared to many Guna people. They had a large house made of cement whereas a lot of people had houses made of sticks. They also owned two motorboats, which is incredibly important for life surrounded by water. Most families only had a single wooden cayuco.
While Kacper rested, I was invited to join one of Marco’s sons, Juan, on a trip to refill their water from a nearby river. Living on an island comes with many challenges, and freshwater is one of them. Every few days, they need to drive up the river and fill all their containers. They use this water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
DAY 21
Even though the weather wasn’t looking too promising, we were ready to continue in the morning. We bought about 10 ham and cheese empanadas from some local kids at $0.20ea and continued along the coastline. It was easy riding at the beginning as we had lots of protection from mangroves, but soon we had to cross into the open ocean to an island we thought could be nice.
It was a lot of work getting to the island. We were now going directly into the current and wind. Our bodies had gotten used to the routine of paddling, so we felt strong and paddled nonstop without complaint.
As we got close to the island, it looked perfect. We noticed a small structure on it and excitedly beached our kayaks to see what it was.
Someone had built a beautiful shelter from trees and palm leaves. It was still rather early in the day, but we decided this place was too perfect to leave. We set up our hammocks inside and got ready for an evening of relaxation.
We discovered that the island was surrounded by reefs so we grabbed our goggles and went snorkeling. This seemed like the perfect island and I dreamed of stopping and living here for the rest of my life. You could live off the abundance of seafood with no problem.
DAY 22
When we were planning our route in the morning, we noticed there was a perfect path of six islands that we could follow to our goal destination. Islands offer great protected paddling and are usually full of sea life. This makes the day much more enjoyable and go by faster.
While paddling along the islands, we saw tons of amazing sea life. A few small reef sharks would be swimming along the shallow waters hunting. The best part was getting to see a manta ray swimming right next to us.
After an amazing day of island hopping, we arrived in Nargana.
Our first impression of this town wasn’t the best. It seemed empty and a lot of the buildings were falling apart. We noticed pretty quickly people looked and dressed very differently than the rest of Guna Yala. The population of this island was mostly Caribbean descent and not Guna.
We saw that this island had a hotel so we took the opportunity to sleep in a bed for the first time on the trip. We had been sleeping in our hammocks, which is honestly my favorite way to sleep, but a bed was calling to me.
DAY 23
We took a day off here to take care of some work. While walking around, I noticed two very clearly white people in white button-downs and dress pants. Immediately I recognized it as the outfit of the Mormons. Very intrigued, I stopped and said hello to them. I learned that the LDS (Latter Day Saints) has churches on about 6 of the Guna Yala islands where they do missionary work.
While I may have some problems with the church of the LDS, the people are usually really nice and it was pretty cool talking to them. They were young guys, around 22 years old, and they got to live here with Guna Yala for months, sometimes years. When they sign up for missionary work, they have no decision about where they get to go. They all seemed really happy to have ended up working in Guna Yala, and I don’t blame them.
DAY 24
By this time we had talked to many local people about our trip and where we were heading. We received lots of warnings that we were soon heading into the roughest waters. The protection from the islands and the outer reefs of San Blas Islands would be gone and we would have to go into the full strength of the ocean. We were also warned that a boat had recently capsized due to big waves and that around nine people had died.
The first section of today’s ride proved those warnings to be true. There was one very unprotected section that was awful. It reminded me of the first day we tried to paddle into the ocean. This time we were a bit more confident in our abilities and pushed through it, although still very scared.
I had one very close call where a wave came at me and quickly seemed to start breaking out of nowhere. I had to put all my weight forward on the kayak to keep it from flipping. My heart was racing afterwards and that’s when I looked around to see where Kacper was. He was nowhere in sight. I had gotten pretty far ahead of him before we entered this rough section and now that we were in it, it was nearly impossible to spot each other between the waves. Our biggest security was riding together and now we were separated in a very dangerous section.
After we made it through the rough section, we were able to spot each other and reconnect. We both were a bit shaken up and Kacper was pretty upset with me. He had every reason to be because I put us in more danger by not waiting for him. This would be the first of a few small arguments we would have, which were bound to happen when you are spending all day every day together in sometimes very stressful situations. No matter what was the cause, we always came out of it closer with a better understanding of each other.
After that section, my doubts about me being able to complete this trip started to sink in. I was having thoughts questioning my strength and determination to paddle to Colombia. We still weren’t even halfway to Colombia and the roughest section lay ahead. I tried my hardest to stay positive and keep heading forward. I was glad to have Kacper because every time I voiced any doubts or concerns, he would help keep me at ease.
After the rough section, we had a pretty calm paddle to the island of Ticantiqui. Within a few minutes of tying up our boats at the main dock, we met Tarsi. Before we could even ask, Tarsi offered to find us a place to sleep. He found us a palapa on a beach behind the chief’s house where we could stay.
We got our kayaks moved and stuff set up then walked around the town. We found a building with a ladder up to a second floor and climbed up to get a good look around. It was a lovely little island.
It was also full of extremely welcoming and kind people. Everyone we passed greeted us and seemed happy to have us there. Kacper and I kept saying to each other how much we loved this island and people.
Kacper had met a local fisherman who was selling some langostino earlier, so we went back and bought these two big ones from him for $5. We thought it was an amazing deal, but Tarsi later told us we still overpaid for it.
DAY 25
We checked the weather forecast in the morning and it did not look good. Strong winds and a large swell were moving in and would last a couple of days. We talked to the chief about our problem and he happily welcomed us to stay as long as we needed.
This is Domi (I don’t remember her name, but I know it started with a D). She was the grand-daughter of the chief and she was currently living with them while her mother was working in Panama City. Domi was adorable and loved to pester us.
While the celebration of the revolution lasts a full month, it all builds up to the final days before the anniversary of the biggest conflict and the day of victory. It was still about a week away, but celebrations were getting more and more common.
One thing that is hard to not notice in the previous picture is the few albino girls. Guna Yala has some of the highest rates of albinism in the world. I never asked about it, but I’m pretty sure it is safe to assume that with such small communities and dating pools, some forms of inbreeding will happen.
We visited the fisherman again for some dinner. This time he had a pulpo that we bought from him. We had no idea how to prepare it, but thankfully Tarsi was able to show us how.
DAY 26
It turns out that the yearly youth Guna Yala basketball tournament happened to be taking place here in Ticantiqui while we were here. Every single community sends their boys and girls team to compete. The island was crazy busy and it was a lot of fun to watch.
The team that I practiced in played with in Wichub Wala (in black and yellow) even came out and we got to watch them play.
Another day, another trip to our local fisherman to see what he has for us. This time he had a massive cangrejo for us. It’s still crazy to me to think crab like this goes for $30+ per pound in the US and we got this beast for a few dollars.
It goes without saying it was delicious. I love crab and lobster and it tastes better in a place like this. We boiled it and then dipped it in a generous amount of garlic butter.
DAY 27
We were slowly falling in love with Ticantiqui. We had been here three days now and we had gotten to know many of the people in the community. Sadly, it was looking like it was about time to leave. The next day would bring good ocean conditions for us to continue.
Kacper and I had been wanting to take a ride on a cayuco, and the opportunity finally came. Tarsi needed to visit the beach to refill his water, so we went with him. Paddling in the cayuco was much, much harder than we were expecting. It was a challenge to maintain balance and I was causing the cayuco to rock violently at first. They are so long and narrow that it feels like walking on a balance beam.
On our last evening, we bought some conch shells and reef fish. This was my first time trying conch and I was looking forward to it. Conch are a staple of the diet here since there are so many and they are easy to catch, they can’t swim away.
Tarsi yet again helped us cook and prepare the food. First, we had to boil the conch for around an hour and then pull the conch out from its shell. This is the toughest part but Tarsi made it look easy. After that, about half of the conch needs to be cut and discarded as it’s not good to eat. Then, we cut and cooked the rest with some garlic, onions, and seasoning. It was pretty good.
The reef fish, on the other hand, was not that great. I love fish, but this was not great eating fish. Kacper enjoyed his and offered the other to the wife of the chief, who was very happy to be offered the fish and ate it with joy.
DAY 28
As we looked at the coastline ahead of us on our map, we realized there would be much fewer islands the rest of the way. There were still some here and there, but we were leaving the San Blas Islands. At first, we worried the ocean conditions would be dangerous without the protection of the islands and reefs. Once we got out there and started, it turned out to be quite nice. The waves were big but very consistent and smooth, so we felt very safe. We had also come far enough along the coastline that we were heading in a direction more favorable with the waves and wind.
In need of a break after a few hours of paddling, we tried to beach at a community called Airdirgandi. Beaching on a coastline can be very difficult and dangerous. Large waves break all along the coast and they would flip us if we tried in the wrong spot. Thankfully as we got close to the community, tons of people ran out and directed us to a protected area safe for beaching.
It felt like half the village came out to greet us. At first, we had a hard time communicating since very few people here spoke Spanish, but thankfully a man named Luis introduced himself.
Luis happily showed us around his village. Compared to all the island communities, this coastal community was very different. Walking around it felt more like a remote jungle tribe instead of a Guna Yala community.
A few of the houses had some very strange, but very cute pets. There was an adorable baby monkey, an agouti, and a pigeon.
After our break in Airdirgandi, we continued towards Playon Chico, another island community a few friends had said they liked. Sadly, our experience here differed a bit and it was one of our least favorites.
We arrived as the sun was setting and did our usual walk around the island, eating and drinking at every store we passed. Very quickly we were getting attention from a few groups of drunk guys who wouldn’t leave us alone and kept demanding we had to pay them. A few random people we passed stopped us asking for money also. We finally met someone seemingly nice and explained we were kayaking and looking for somewhere to set up our hammocks for the night. He walked us right back to the dock where our kayaks were and directed us to talk to the police station next door, he said they could help us. He demanded a tip before leaving.
By now, Kacper and I had had enough of being pestered for money. Everyone we met only seemed to be interested in us to get money. We have had so many amazing and authentic interactions with people that when we have ones like this, it turns us away.
A bit grumpy, we checked out the massive event going on in the center. Some festivities were going on for the revolution with a huge crowd. We retired pretty early since we had our biggest day paddling yet, covering 33km (20 miles).
DAY 29
We loaded up on some hojadras before heading out. These delicious little circles of fried dough are commonplace in Panama and usually go for about $0.10 each. Our diet was dependent on what we could find from the community tiendas, which were very basic. Breakfast was oatmeal, lunch was whatever snacks we could find ready to eat, and dinners were usually rice or pasta with lentils and tomato sauce for some flavor. Every here and there we could find a restaurant for a meal, but it was rare.
While taking a midday rest on an island, we noticed a group of Gunas spearfishing in the reefs in front of us. We wanted to try and buy a fish off of them so we called them over. In their boat, they had many different types of fish, langostino, crab, and octopus. They said they had only been fishing a few hours and had already caught all of that.
They ended up giving us a small fish for free and Kacper and I cut it up and made some ceviche with it. It was fantastically refreshing.
After paddling around 25km (16 miles), we arrived at the island of Aligandi. By now, we were very accustomed to this way of life, and paddling for 7 hours in the ocean was no problem. I think we would usually average around 4 km/hr, which wasn’t too bad. Our kayaks were big and inflatable, so we were a bit slower.
With a bad taste from Playon Chico still on our minds, Aligandi was completely the opposite. We tied up our boats, with the usual help of locals hanging out by the dock, and were invited into a restaurant right by the dock by the owner, Dan. He sat and talked to us while we ate a delicious plate of patacones and some fried chicken.
Dan and his father ran this restaurant together. They were from here originally but had lived in Panama City for a while where Dan was a chef. They had recently returned here and started up a restaurant. They offered to let us sleep in our hammocks on the porch of their restaurant as long as we liked. Dan kept tell us how the biggest day of the holiday was coming up in a few days, and that we needed to stay to experience it. Kacper and I were only planning to stay the one night, so we would leave that decision for tomorrow morning.
Later in the night, some dances and music were going on in the center. Kacper and I joined to watch them and they were some of the best we had seen yet. Some people took notice of us and would introduce themselves and be interested in us and wanted to know why we were there. Everyone would keep telling us the same thing, that in a few days, there would be a massive celebration and that we must stay to experience it. This island felt really special and the urge to leave in the morning was slowly dissipating.
I’ll end this part of the blog here, as the next few days that take place are incredible and will forever be one of the most amazing cultural experiences of my life. I hope you all enjoyed following along and seeing more of the Guna Yala culture with me.