Drunken Kuna Island Fiesta, San Blas Islands, Panama

We stopped at two Kuna islands – the autonomous indigenous, mainly island-dwelling people of the south-west of Panama. They were having a fiesta of sorts on the first island. All of them totally drunk inside the dark palapa hut – maybe 100 people. The woman traditionally dressed swilling rum out of large bottles and crying or laughing in groups as they wobbled arm in arm down the narrow palapa lanes. Unfortunately one of the men made me delete my photos…but bikers have agreed to pool photos in Turbo, Columbia upon arrival.

I woke up in the sweaty birth that had had dripping rain water falling on me all night from the hatch I had opened in a sad attempt to get some air into the sauna-like cabin.   Luis the Colombian first mate and cook was preparing breakfast until Fritz accused him of running down the power all night as the engine wouldn’t turn over.   A generator was produced blowing noise and air pollution over the breakfast table until Fritz with a hammer and WD-40 announced the starter had been ‘stuck’ .

Dolphins surfaced and swam alongside the boat jumping up as we sailed through a series of reefs and uninhabited palm-fringed islands until reaching a stretch of completely open ocean on one side about 4km offshore from the Darien Gap.   Quickly a re-arrangement of bodies took place with everyone out of the cabin and seeking out places with air and a view of the skyline. I stayed in the cabin too long and started to feel queasy and fell asleep, Mark skipped lunch, and everyone stopped talking except Fritz who continue to har-har-har laugh and exclaim ‘super!’ occasionally.   It transpired that Mark and Ben had been vomiting during the crossing (required for accurate transcription of events!).

Details on how to cross the Darien Gap with (or without) a motorcycle by sailboat

Fritz with Darien Gap BehindSan Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama			San Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama
San Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama	San Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama	San Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama	San Blas Island, Kuna Territory, Panama
Bike on Fritz the Cat, Kuna Territory, Panama	Dolphins, Kuna Territory, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama
Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama
Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama	Kuna Island Party, San Blas, Panama

Carti, Panama to Turbo, Columbia