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Published: March 21st 2009
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On the truck there was a couple from the US, they dont seem to be too friendly.. We stopped at a checkpoint and we have to show our passport and all. Then we stopped for breakfast, i did not have any, the road got rougher going up mountains to get to the Sna Blas archipelago, the American dude got sick and we have to stop for him to throw up. Arriving at the "port" we have to pay $1 to use it! We paid $25 for the truck to get there already, plus $2 to enter the Kuna Yala area,quite annoying, too many fees.
We waited for a long time for a boat that will take us to Isla Robinson, the boat was full, an American couple from NY and 3 older Italians, the boat stopped briefly at Carti and loaded the canisters with petrol then off we go, 1 1/2 hour later and soaking wet with sprays of seawater we arrived at the beautiful island of Robinson. We later realized this was not the one we booked, we booked the other Robinson island called Pelikana but we decided to stay here as they have a cabin for us and seem
to be a good vibe here as well, the sand is white and beautiful, hues of blue and emerald green color makes the water enticing to swim in, for $20 a night we pay for the cabin, meals and snorkel rent included and boat excursions to other islands to snorkel, we thought it was good deal, until that night when all the cockroaches came out in our cabin and Heilke, 6´4" totally freaked out, scared as hell of these little creatures, I had the great task of flicking them all away before he enters the cabin to sleep.
Days here were spent sleeping, eating(if you have some snacks with you) snorkelling and siesta. The food was not spectacular, we even got served fish heads for dinner with rice! There is a store in the island but it is quite expensive to buy things, But the scenery is gorgeous and the snorkelling is great, we saw lots of fishies some we could not identify, the only thing is that the water gets deep right away and I am scared of the deep especially when it is deep blue dark and cant see a thing. It rained a bit on the
first night, and the people who were there already before us were quite nice and gave us heads up on what to expect. We got a good tip from the Austrian couple, when we get dropped off to snorkel make sure thay understood they have to come back for us!! They have to swim back to the Robinson island when they did not get picked up on a snorkelling trip, good thing the island was quite close, but like me they freaked out as they have to swim in very deep water, and big waves, but they made it alright.
The next day, a few people left, late, very late, they were told to get up at 6am but since there was no jeep to wait for them on the other side they have to wait till 12noon to depart!! We snorkelled in the meantime, and walking the lenghts of the island i took some great photos to make everyone jealous, the island is gorgeous but you can already see the effects of human habitation, trash in some areas.. Ohh and the toilet is a classic!! Goes straight down the water, it is on the other side of tyhe
island so no one snorkels or swims in that part. I could not do number 2 there i have to dig a hole Africa overlanding style and burry it on the ground, I cant stand seeing my turd floating about in the water. it rained a bit again today but the sun is always out, just pasing dark clouds. And the sunset today was gorgeous. the Italians which is our neighbor in the cabins started to annoy us, but we eventually got along with them, well we have to theres not much people her to talk to. the island has 4 hotels/cabins all belonging to the cimmunity but different prices the most expensive being $70 a night!! It does not look any different from our cabins. We became friend with a nice American couple from NY, the guy Jared lived in Argentina and Philippines and I got good tips for both countries to see and do. Our first excursion is to the 6 palm tree island, where the Austrians got stranded, this time the boatman stayed until we are done, we saw spider shrimps here quite cool. Dinner was chicken this time yay!! We had a few drinks and the
Italians built a bonfire. Rained again a bit but good night overall.
Next morning is snorkelling day again! Nothing much to do here really, hammocking, snorkelling, eating, sleeping, perfect to unwind! This in my opinion is the most beautiful islands in Central America. Heilke and me snorkelled around the rocks in deep water, i got a bit scared as the waves were pounding the corals really hard, i swallowed lots of water, at one point i dropped my snorkel and Heilke has to dive to retrieve it. in the afternoon, new people came, French, Germans and Dutch, nice people, good company. We went after lunch to Isla Pelikana to snorkel and drop off some people. We saw a school of small fish in the millions, quite cool it surrounds you when you snorkel alongside of them but the bad news is a few small barracudas linger as well, so i swam with my fist closed to make sure they dont bite them! got paranoid as one of the locals told us they can bit our fingers off! Heilke and the French guy swam accross the other island, i was content on looking for small crabs and starfish. it was
raining on our way here and it got sunny again back at the Robinson island. The localkids found a dead octopus in the beach and were taking turns hurling it , not a pretty sight, I have not seen a TV here so they have to entertain themselves somehow.We had some coconut fruits and then dinner is served. Chicken!!
Heilke freaked out again when the cockroaches started to appear after sunset, and decided to sleep in the hammocks, the American couple are quite eekked out as well as the night before there was a tarantula in their room! So that was what the hole in the ground is for they thought!! After bonfire I went to bed for early departure the next morning. Slept well.
We got soaked on our way back to the dock, we travelled with the Dutch couple that came yesterday, the girl did not like the accomodations, too rustic for her so they are leaving. Wet to the bones I changed my clothes when we reached the shore and waited for our jeep/truck to arrive, in the meantime we got bitten by midges. Mario appeared with the truck and took us back to Panama City.
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Danielle
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question about Robinson Island
Hello, I'm heading to the San Blas Islands with some girlfriends and was wondering if the place you stayed at was Robinson's Cabin or not. Even with that name, I'm not positive what Island it's on. Thanks for your time! Danielle