Kuna Yala

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Kuna Yala (formerly San Blas) is an amazing and beautiful place where it is not uncommon to see people living in much the same way that they may have lived 500 or a thousand years ago with a few common additions such as the ocassional gasoline engine, radio or oven. During our time in Kuna Yala we stayed on the island of Wichab-Wala for two days and then went on to Kuanidup Grande.
Wichub Wala is an island that is fairly large for the region. It takes about a minute and a half to walk from one edge to the other and the island has a number of aborroterias which are little supply posts where you look in a window and ask for goods. There are 390 inhabitants on Wichab Wala who live in traditional huts made of bamboo and palm. On Wichub-Wala there is a meeting house where the people come to meet whenever there is a dispute on the island or if something has been stolen or someone needs help. Every year, the islanders meet to decide whose hut is the most worn and the community gets together and rebuilds them. A hut takes about a day to build and will last for about twenty years.
On Wichub Wala, we stayed at the Kuna Inn which had nice rooms and hammocks that looked over the ocean. The people on Wichub Wala, with the exception of the children seemed to tolerate outsiders but were not all that friendly. Whenever Marianne and I walked around the village, women would come out of their huts and show us their molas or bracelets. Some villagers, were a little pushy and would say things like, "You buy." However, everything was defiintely "muy tranquilo" as the owner of the Inn we stayed in seemed to enjoy saying.
We took two day trips from Wichub Wala. One took us the island of Akutupu, where we swam around a wrecked Columbian ship that had turned into a reef. It was fun to dive into the hold of the ship and swim under the deck where fish were hiding. We also bought coconuts from the family that lived on the island as well as a mola. Its unbelievable to see the Kuna living one family to an island in this amazingly beautiful place with nothing to do but swim, fish and sew molas. The other day trip took us to an island with a decent beach and a coconut grove.
After spending a couple of days in the village of Wichub-Wala, Marianne and I decided to ask the owner to set up a boat for us to go to Cabanas Kuanidup. This was definitely a good decision! The first day, we were two of four guests on the island and the next day we were alone with the five Kuna who work at the resort. We had the best meals at Kuanidup, usually consisting of a salad arranged as a flower, coconut rice and a main dish of crab, lobster, shrimp or fish. All of the seafood was amazing as it had been caught that day and brought by dugout canoe just hours before being cooked.
Kuanidup grande, is a island that takes about twenty seconds to walk across one way and about ten seconds to walk across the other way. (You can imagine what Kuanidup pequeno is like!!) The island is completely encircled with reef and as such the snorkeling is excellent wherever you go. We swam through schools of sardines that were so thick you couldn't see more than a foot from your face, chased manta rays, watched a barracuda swim lazily back and forth and saw a host of other tropical reef fish like triggerfish, clownfish, damselfish etc.
We also took a short boat ride to Kuanidup Pequeno, where we had the whole island all to ourselves. From the Western side of Kuanidup Pequeno you could look as far as the horizon and see nothing but islands with no sign of civilization in any direction.
One evening, we got into a good game of 3 on 3 beach volleyball with the Kuna who lived and worked on Kuanidup. We played for a couple of hours while the sun slowly set alongside our game. It was really nice to get to interact with the Kuna a little...apparently volleyball and mini-basketball are the most popular games among the islands and the children sometimes meet to have tournaments.
Our last night in Kuanidup was filled with thunderstorms and choppy water and Marianne and I were really scared to think that we would be taking a dug-out canoe with a tiny engine across the ocean to the airport. However, as five o'clock approached the storms seemed to calm down and the seas flattened out. However, we were both a little scared when one of the Kuna appeared with life-jackets and big yellow raincoats. Our ride over was slow but the ocean was calm and beautiful. We eventually reached the runway and within half an hour boarded a little plane bound for Panama City.

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Photos

Beach at Kuanidup
At Kuanidup, there were two dugout canoes. These canoes have to be made from one tree on tierra firma and take three months to make.

Kuanidup Grande
The cabanas on Kuanidup Grande. We had the whole island to ourselves.

Flowers on Kuandiup Pequeno
These flowers grew under the coconut palms on the island that we had to ourselves for a couple hours.

Flowers on Kuandiup
Kuanidup was so beautiful!

Island
The island where we took one of our day trips.

Beach volleyball anyone?
The beginning of the 3 on 3 match we played with the Kuna for a couple hours.

Teki Malo Kuanidup
Teki Malo = goodbye in Kuna

Hotel Kuna Inn
Part of our room at the Kuna Inn. All of the walls were made of thatched bamboo.

Comments

[Jane]

Amazing stuff
These are memories that will last with you forever. Absolutely amazing pictures.

[man in white suit]

wowzers
awesome island. you buy! you buy!

[veronyc]

thank you for sharing. If you have more advices, please send them to me, as we are going to san blas on June 22th. flight things we must see boat trip ect. thank you in advance Veronyc

[Geir]

I miss it!
The most beatiful place i have ever been. Went there in 2003.