First and foremost, there are not enough positive superlatives in my opinion to describe this Robinson-like archipelago of the San Blas (Guna Yala) islands. It’s almost annoying how perfect the area is. Anyway, if you’re planning a visit, just mentally prepare yourself to expect drop-dead gorgeous sceneries.
In total, the region consists of 365 separate islands; however, only a few of them are open to the public. The islands are very small, full of palm trees and usually have a handful of huts that are either occupied by locals or available for tourists. Whatever island you visit, you probably are able to walk it entirely within 10 minutes.
Bring your goggles, since there’s ample opportunity for snorkeling around. The groups of fish are abundant and starfishes are to be spotted everywhere throughout the area (but don’t take them out of the water! – the water is so bright there’s actually no need to pick them up at all).
The San Blas islands are not just any paradisiacal destination; they are the home of the Guna’s. They form together a strong community of proud people that have their own culture, one that’s totally different from the traditional Panamanian culture. Moreover, they have their own laws.
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Some 50.000 of the Guna still live scattered around in San Blas. The men wear western clothing, but the women still adorn themselves in customary garb – with geometrical patterns from ankles to knees, ‘molas’ (handcrafted blouses) and a LOT of gold to top it off. All of this decoration marks tradition too, the septum for example is pierced whenever a girl gets her first period.
The islands are the Guna’s homes, and they consider tourists as their guests. Their life on the islands are kept very primitive and they want it to keep it that way. Perhaps you might need to get used to a stay of scarce electricity and cold water showers, but it is because of those undeveloped facilities and ‘stay away’ mentality that the area still can be considered so pristine and free of big chain hotels. Unfortunately we did however saw at times quite some trash whenever we hopped from island to island. No idea whether this came from boats, from tourists or locals, but anyway it’s always nice to remember that there’s no need to drop stuff in the water.
To keep it low-cost, we didn’t book the trip through an organization in Panama City, but via a friend of us in Panama straight with one of the locals, Mireya. She arranged a stay for us for $156,- each including: two nights at Senidup, transportation to and from Panama City, tax at the Guna Yala border, the boat ride to and from the island, one afternoon of tours (an extra tour on another day will cost you $10,- each – totally worth it) and food three times a day. So basically everything you need. I’d suggest though to bring enough water, some bottles of rum or wine and snacks. The food was alright on the island were we stayed (an egg in the morning, rice and chicken for lunch, rice and fish for supper – lobster was available too for an extra $15,-), but you might need some goodies if you want to live a bit more ‘comfortably’, so to say.
Reaching one of the four ports to the islands requires some patience – and a strong stomach. If you are prone to motion sickness, make sure you take a pill of some sort before you go. The bends in the road are serious and the trips takes long. Our entire journey from A to B was about 5 hours getting there and 4 hours on the way back. It really depends on the traffic in Panama City, so to decrease your time of sitting in the minibus, make sure you don’t go on some local holiday!
Want to arrange a trip just like ours? Contact Mireya +507 65304504 via what’s app. If you speak a bit of Spanish or totally don’t mind using Google Translate, that’d probably even work out better for her.
Want to know what our adventure was like? Click on the pictures!
