I had no success in connecting to the internet at the German "Yogi's" place in the the West Lemmon Cays. Everyone else seemed to get a connection but for us it was impossible. I believe that this is due to the ethernet cable that was used for the connection. My navigation laptop uses the ethernet connection for the our MaxSea navigation program and the AIS (automatic identification system). Anyway, I didn't get internet and lost my ability to see AIS targets in the MaxSea Navigation Program. It was a lose-lose situation and I regretted trying to connect the navigation laptop to Yogi's internet. We were not able to get everything right until we contacted a Furuno specialist in the States after arriving in Colon. If it hadn't been for John (our Canadian sailing friend), I don't think I could have solved the problem.
Anyway, we weighed anchor on January 21, 2012 and motored over to Nonomulu (9-27.6 N 78-59.1 W) which is about 6 nm to the South. Our Canadian friends, John & Karin, were flying in from Ft. Lauderdale to Panama City and then taking the 4 x 4 Jeep for Tocumen airport outside Panama City to the last stop on the Kuna Yala mainland. Nonomulu is a small island just a stones throw off the mainland and makes for an excellent anchorage and pickup for passengers coming or returning. There is a "panga" (water taxi) that brings people out to the anchorage.
John and Karin arrived on Sunday Jan. 22nd around 0830 hrs in the morning. We were surprised that they got there so quickly, however we found out that they left Tocumen airport at 0530 hrs in the morning. We were delighted to see them. They are both experienced yachtsmen and navigators so this would make it possible to work our way through the reefs into many beautiful anchorages. I had prepared an itinerary for a three week cruise starting in Nonomulu and working our way East and then coming back West and continuing on to Colon via Linton Island and Portobello.
Since John and Karin had arrived so early it was possible to visit a traditional Kuna village about a mile away to the West. We took the dinghy and motored over. As in every Kuna village, the women are selling the traditional "molas" and sundry other handmade items. The homes are thatched huts. There is running water that is piped in from streams on the mainland and fed into tanks that are elevated so that gravity brings water to local watering spots. There is no electricity. The village was called "Acuadup" and is "traditional" in the way they run their affairs. There are several "sailas" (local chiefs and historians of the Kuna culture) and "agars" (interpreters of the "saila's wisdom). Every evening the village gathers in a special hut called the "Congreso" where all the important affairs of the village are discussed. Debates, complaints and grievances are delivered to the "saila" who decides on the course of action to be taken. With permission from the "saila", non-Kunas may attend one of the "congresos". The problem is finding a way back to the yacht after dark in a village with no lights. We did not do this.
We spent a few hours in the village and found the local bakery where they make Kuna Bread. It is a yeast bread that is absolutely delicious. These Kunas are ingenious in the ways that they can produce a delicious bread using the ovens of old home stoves or wood-fired. It all comes out as a delicious bread that every yachtie tries to buy.
We returned to "Solstice" before dark, had a rum punch and enjoyed a great sunset. It was good to have John and Karin aboard.
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