There have been no postings since we left Port Antonio, Jamaica for the San Blas Islands because we haven't had internet service. The San Blas Islands are very beautiful but remote and internet is virtually non-existent unless one has a cell phone with internet options. We arrived in El Porvenir, San Blas without knowing how to get a cell phone and internet set up.
Briefly, we had a great sail from Port Antonio to El Porvenir: 555 nm. One could not have asked for better Wx: NE to E Trade Winds 15-18 kts with 8-10 seas. These seas were gentle giants with a long interval between seas. We averaged about 126 nm per day under double reefed mainsail and reefed jib. There were times when we could have set more sail during the day but it is necessary to reef down at night. With big seas running it was safer to run with a reefed configuration instead of trying to gain extra speed with a full sail.
The San Blas Islands are absolutely beautiful and the Kuna Indians are very friendly and welcoming to tourists. Most are visiting yachts and the Kuna Indians are good businessmen as well as being great sailors and fishermen. The islands are picture perfect postcards of what the South Pacific Islands must look like. The only difference is that they aren't volcanic in origin with a lagoon but reefed fringed with breaks between the reef and islands. Many of the Kuna Indians have chosen to live a very simple life with dugout canoes which they call "Cayucos". They sail and paddle these cayucos from the islands to the mainland where they have small farm plots to raise vegetables and fruits. They leave early in the morning and return in the afternoon. There is little or no electricity on most of the small islands. Fish, lobster, conch, coconut, and other seafood are the main staples. The Kunas are a small but very attractive race. They have tried to maintain racial purity by outlawing intermarriage with non- Kunas. Some of the Kuna villages have chosen to leave the traditional Kuna life and become more modern. In these villages one can see the evil flicker of the "boob tube" and other modern conveniences. There appears to be a lot of tolerance for different life styles among them. We met a very famous transvestite on Rio Sidra and homosexuality seems to be tolerated.
The Kuna women make their living by selling "molas". These are embroidered layers of various colored cloths The women wear them as a shirt pattern. They depict different motifs: animal, sea, trees, fruit, birds and abstract or historical. They are one of the most common items bought by tourists. As soon a s yacht anchors, the Kuna women paddle out in their cayucos to sell "molas". The best way to see a "mola" is to google it. They are quite beautiful and would make a great wall hanging by framing them.
We sailed from the San Blas Islands on February 6th for Colon, via Linton and Portobello. During the last month we have had two Canadian sailors with us. They joined us in the San Blas and made the transit of the Panama Canal to the Pacific side. They will leave tomorrow. It has been a wonderful experience to have them aboard and it proved that we can accommodate another couple.
Presently, we are anchored in Las Playitas near Flamenco Island on the Pacific side. This is the Western entrance to the Panama Canal. Panama City is about 5 miles away. We are preparing for the voyage to the Galapagos. Our plans are to leave next Thursday or Friday.
The blog is going to have long periods when there will be no postings because we won't have internet service. I will try to catch up when I can but will, most likely, have to give a summary of events. The Pacific is vast and our sailing distances will increase. From Las Playitas to the Galapagos is 950 nm. From the Galapagos to the Marquesas is 3000 nm!! Somewhere along these long voyages I may learn that I can write and save my entries and then post them on the blog. Until then, be patient.
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