San Blas Island, Panama
December 14th, 2004
We have made it to our first anchorage in the San Blas Islands. We have been beating against 20kt winds from the NE for the past few days, not making much headway, until today. Today we had terrific sailing, 20-25kts, close reach, which gave us a swift exhilarating sail. These are my favorite conditions to hand steer, which I did plenty of.
I have only been in the Atlantic for a few days so I can’t really draw any conclusive conclusions yet, but what I have experienced is quite different than the usual seas of the Pacific. The waves are short and very irregular, lumpy I guess. It will take a little getting used to. The water is crystalline, but seemingly very salty by comparison. I don’t know if there is a difference in salinity or if it is just my imagination.
Our first exposure to the Kuna living on the San Blas Islands has been wonderful. We are currently anchored at Chichime and have already met 2 different families, been invited to visit them at their home/hut and have shared some conversation. The older generation and the women of the second generation speaks only Kuna, while the male of the second generation speak Spanish and Kuna. The kids of the third generation are learning English as well as Spanish, if they are attending school. So, you can see that our common language is Spanish. It really is amazing how well we can get by with our understanding of Spanish.
We plan to leave this island tomorrow for another one where there will be a week long festival celebrating the transition to puberty for the island’s youth. I think that will be an amazing opportunity to participate in a cultural ritual, drink the native brew and learn about the significance of the transition to puberty for the Kuna. This is truly an amazing area. You will have a much better idea of what I am talking about when you see the pictures posted on our website.
We don’t know if we will celebrate Christmas here, Kuna style, or sail on to Cartagena and get a Columbian Christmas. Either way is a win for us. I hope all of you enjoy your Christmas holiday. We will be thinking of you.
love,
Jeri and Michael
