We’re still in the San Blas. We don't really want to leave! Luckily Becca and Dale left some cash with us (there aren't exactly any ATM’s out here), which means we can stay a bit longer. We don't need money for much, but some places charge anchorage fees and we’ve run out of fresh veges so we would have had to head back to Shelter Bay if they hadn't helped us out. Thank goodness for amazing friends!
One of the Carti islands
We visited our first village today. Most of the islands out here just have palm trees and maybe a few shacks on them, so there’s not really much to see. But a few of the bigger islands have little towns built on them, like Carti and Porvenir. The islands are still tiny so they have to use every inch of ground above water. I've examined a few of the more populated islands as we’ve sailed past - the little houses are practically built on top of each other and there's no room to move. Often their structures teeter dangerously over the water, as if they started off on land and then got blown up like balloons so they just don't quite fit on the island anymore.
Looking for the fuel dock
So we went ashore to one of the Carti islands. It was hard to tell where to go - we were anchored next to two islands that were obviously well populated. Houses threatened to fall off the islands into the water as the buildings behind almost pushed them further and further away. Whether global warming has just swallowed up some of the island or more buildings were erected when there was no more room, I don't know. We’d been told you could tie up at the fuel dock but with no idea where that was we just headed to shore in the direction that we thought it should be. After talking to somebody in really bad Spanish, we eventually found a spot for the dinghy. To the right was a concrete jetty leading out to the fuel dock, and to the left was somebody's backyard.
Space to park the dinghy
We turned left and found some friendly people sitting around chatting. Their yard was decorated with crisscrossing rows of washing hanging up and it was fenced in with lines of roughly cut bamboo lashed together. There was nowhere else to go. I tried to tell them that we needed fruit and vegetables, though I have no idea if that’s actually what I said. Either way they understood that we wanted to go somewhere, and we were led through their small house and directed to a long walkway. With no real instructions, we figured we were just supposed to wander through.
I very much felt like we were walking through people’s houses and over their property. Which I guess we were. I think the Kuna people are quite communal with things like property seeing as there’s so little of it, so I guess trespassing isn't really a thing. The houses were mostly made of bamboo and palm fronds, with a few tarps thrown in to keep out the rain. They were all very small, usually with a few hammocks strung around in the darkness. There were no lights and no windows, but the light from the open doorways (no doors) was usually enough to see by. Some of them had a table or chair, but for the most part there was very little furniture inside. Which makes sense considering what a mission it is just to get out to these islands and how little land there is here - lugging wood or furniture would be a huge mission. But hammocks fold up very small and are easy to make with a bit of rope.
There was a maze of walkways in between them all. The walls were sometimes there to separate the path from somebody's tiny yard, sometimes they were just the walls of houses, and sometimes there was no wall at all as the path led through the door of a tiny shack and out the other side. It was bizarre. But we followed the maze, asking directions from a few people along the way.
Eventually we found a kind of road. The ground was still compacted sand, just like in all the houses, but the space was much wider. There were a few actual buildings made from solid materials, and kids in school uniforms strolled past as they headed home for the day. A few of the buildings were little cafes of sorts, with very short menus out the front (‘Hungry? Rice. Fish. Beans. Here’). We even found a little store with a concrete floor that was selling dry goods, eggs, soap, beans and a few other things. Then we were directed further into the maze where we eventually found a lady in a house with a basket of limes and fresh bread. We filled up on her wares before being wandering further along towards the waterfront.
We walked past ladies sewing, and a pile of big barrels. They all had water in them, the emptier ones placed under a tarp on the roof to catch the water as it dripped down. Another tarp was tied to a few chairs, with a pool of water collecting in the middle. I knew fresh water was an issue in the San blas, but this really opened my eyes. None of the barrels were covered and as we were walking past a lady came over with a cup and dipped it into the water, drinking as she walked away. There wasn't enough water for all the people in the houses close by, and it was hardly hygienic. No wonder boats with water makers get put to use out here.
We eventually made it to the vegetable store. It was an open area next to the water, and not a little shack like I had been expecting. There were shelves stacked high with fruit and vegetables, and pineapples and bananas were strung from ropes which lined the perimeter. Everything we could have wanted was here! I was surprised, because I had nothing to compare these islands to other than the Perlas Islands on the other side of Panama. We found nothing fresh there aside from bananas, plantains and limes. But their little stores had things like soda, potato chips, rice and beans. The bigger towns even had (very expensive) wine, butter and plastic cheese. The “stores” in Carti seemed to have a much smaller variety of foods for sale so I was expecting a much smaller range of fresh food, if that’s even possible. But we hit the jackpot! I got excited and we filled our bags with fruit and veges.
I wanted to explore the town a little more, but it really felt like we were trespassing. So back through the maze we went. A young girl came running after us as we were walking towards the waterfront… We had passed her on the way in. I thought she was just being friendly, but she was trying to direct us back through a doorway we had passed. It led through her house and into her backyard where our boat was tied up.
So that was Carti. At least everybody was friendly!
Xxx Monique
Click here for more pictures!
We visited our first village today. Most of the islands out here just have palm trees and maybe a few shacks on them, so there’s not really much to see. But a few of the bigger islands have little towns built on them, like Carti and Porvenir. The islands are still tiny so they have to use every inch of ground above water. I've examined a few of the more populated islands as we’ve sailed past - the little houses are practically built on top of each other and there's no room to move. Often their structures teeter dangerously over the water, as if they started off on land and then got blown up like balloons so they just don't quite fit on the island anymore.
So we went ashore to one of the Carti islands. It was hard to tell where to go - we were anchored next to two islands that were obviously well populated. Houses threatened to fall off the islands into the water as the buildings behind almost pushed them further and further away. Whether global warming has just swallowed up some of the island or more buildings were erected when there was no more room, I don't know. We’d been told you could tie up at the fuel dock but with no idea where that was we just headed to shore in the direction that we thought it should be. After talking to somebody in really bad Spanish, we eventually found a spot for the dinghy. To the right was a concrete jetty leading out to the fuel dock, and to the left was somebody's backyard.
We turned left and found some friendly people sitting around chatting. Their yard was decorated with crisscrossing rows of washing hanging up and it was fenced in with lines of roughly cut bamboo lashed together. There was nowhere else to go. I tried to tell them that we needed fruit and vegetables, though I have no idea if that’s actually what I said. Either way they understood that we wanted to go somewhere, and we were led through their small house and directed to a long walkway. With no real instructions, we figured we were just supposed to wander through.
I very much felt like we were walking through people’s houses and over their property. Which I guess we were. I think the Kuna people are quite communal with things like property seeing as there’s so little of it, so I guess trespassing isn't really a thing. The houses were mostly made of bamboo and palm fronds, with a few tarps thrown in to keep out the rain. They were all very small, usually with a few hammocks strung around in the darkness. There were no lights and no windows, but the light from the open doorways (no doors) was usually enough to see by. Some of them had a table or chair, but for the most part there was very little furniture inside. Which makes sense considering what a mission it is just to get out to these islands and how little land there is here - lugging wood or furniture would be a huge mission. But hammocks fold up very small and are easy to make with a bit of rope.
There was a maze of walkways in between them all. The walls were sometimes there to separate the path from somebody's tiny yard, sometimes they were just the walls of houses, and sometimes there was no wall at all as the path led through the door of a tiny shack and out the other side. It was bizarre. But we followed the maze, asking directions from a few people along the way.
Eventually we found a kind of road. The ground was still compacted sand, just like in all the houses, but the space was much wider. There were a few actual buildings made from solid materials, and kids in school uniforms strolled past as they headed home for the day. A few of the buildings were little cafes of sorts, with very short menus out the front (‘Hungry? Rice. Fish. Beans. Here’). We even found a little store with a concrete floor that was selling dry goods, eggs, soap, beans and a few other things. Then we were directed further into the maze where we eventually found a lady in a house with a basket of limes and fresh bread. We filled up on her wares before being wandering further along towards the waterfront.
We walked past ladies sewing, and a pile of big barrels. They all had water in them, the emptier ones placed under a tarp on the roof to catch the water as it dripped down. Another tarp was tied to a few chairs, with a pool of water collecting in the middle. I knew fresh water was an issue in the San blas, but this really opened my eyes. None of the barrels were covered and as we were walking past a lady came over with a cup and dipped it into the water, drinking as she walked away. There wasn't enough water for all the people in the houses close by, and it was hardly hygienic. No wonder boats with water makers get put to use out here.
We eventually made it to the vegetable store. It was an open area next to the water, and not a little shack like I had been expecting. There were shelves stacked high with fruit and vegetables, and pineapples and bananas were strung from ropes which lined the perimeter. Everything we could have wanted was here! I was surprised, because I had nothing to compare these islands to other than the Perlas Islands on the other side of Panama. We found nothing fresh there aside from bananas, plantains and limes. But their little stores had things like soda, potato chips, rice and beans. The bigger towns even had (very expensive) wine, butter and plastic cheese. The “stores” in Carti seemed to have a much smaller variety of foods for sale so I was expecting a much smaller range of fresh food, if that’s even possible. But we hit the jackpot! I got excited and we filled our bags with fruit and veges.
I wanted to explore the town a little more, but it really felt like we were trespassing. So back through the maze we went. A young girl came running after us as we were walking towards the waterfront… We had passed her on the way in. I thought she was just being friendly, but she was trying to direct us back through a doorway we had passed. It led through her house and into her backyard where our boat was tied up.
So that was Carti. At least everybody was friendly!
Xxx Monique
Click here for more pictures!
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