It was quite the trek to get there! We were picked up at 6 o’ clock in the
morning (at which time the temperature is close to perfect, I discovered) by an
uncommonly large Panamanian man in a large white 4x4 vehicle, and our long
drive began (we didn’t realize at the time how long it was to be).
After a quick stop at a supermarket to get snacks for the
journey, we began to drive away from the more urbanized areas of Panama that we
are accustomed to until we turned off onto a road into the tropical mountain
jungle. The road was winding, went up
and down very steep hills, and coiled around tight loops. Most of it was paved, but there were
stretches of gravel, or pavement that was riddled with treacherous pits – our driver
was very cautious, which probably added to the total amount of time it took to
make it to the shoreline; we gathered that this was his first time actually
making this drive, which was unsettling, and he also struggled quite a bit with
the manual transmission. There were a
couple checkpoints along the way, and we had to stop and pay fines, and also
had to show our documents, because we are very foreign looking. Finally, after more than four hours of
driving, we abruptly arrived at the place from where a boat would take us to
the islands.
Emerging (unexpectedly) from the jungle to the parking zone
This is the type of vehicle you need to even make it this far
Heading to the docks
(With many other tourists and vacationers)
Our our way to the island
The Kuna people live in shack-like dwellings, and travel to other islands that are populated by visitors.
The boat ride to the island was anything but pleasant. It was a grey and cloudy day, with sporadic rainfall,
so to get into a low open motorboat was not going to be comfortable. As we traveled through the waves, I could not
even open my eyes because I was getting smacked in the face with so much water. My side of the boat seemed to get the worst
of it. Not a fun time. I was soaking wet by the time we disembarked –
onto a small island paradise.
Approaching the dock - a welcome sight after the ridiculous boat ride
Doesn't this look like it should be a postcard?
Traditional Kuna artwork, and a Kuna woman in the traditional clothing
The island is called Aguja, and is one of the San Blas
islands that was originally home to the Kuna natives. Their society is now one that is based on
tourism in modernity, rather than their traditional agrarian lifestyle. We seemed to have left the rain on the
mainland, though we had a decent amount of cloud cover. It was idyllic, absolutely characteristic of
a tropical island paradise (there is not another word I can think of to
describe it). This week is Semana Santa
(a holy week) in Panama, and people are enjoying holiday vacations – so there
were many tents set up around the island (which really was not that large) and
groups and families relaxed in the shade of palm trees. The beaches have light sand, and the water is
indeed clear and light green in color.
Darker reefs were visible not far from shore, and there were people snorkeling
around them. We had lunch, and then
spent the day lounging on the beach or wading and swimming in the sea.
Unfortunately, I’m not really a “beach person” (for a
multitude of reasons), and this time the sun (hiding in the clouds) got me good.
(I know it's hideous, sorry)
How does that burn even happen?? OUCH!
Despite the nasty sunburn and the HOURS of (not fun)
transportation, it was lovely to spend a day on a beautiful tropical island.
