Kuna Yala

At my last blog post, we were about to leave for the San Blas archipelago on the Cari been side of Panama where the Kuna Yala people live as one of the only autonomous indigenous groups in the world. The week-long visit was as unique and unforgettable as the Kuna themselves.

From El Cope we took a bus to a hostel in Gamboa which is just outside Panama City. We stayed there one night and were served a delicious meal of pineapple BBQ chicken, fresh fruit, lentils, and rice. We woke up the next morning at 4 am and crammed ourselves into 3 vans for the ride to the coast. Most of that leg of the trip was up and down gentle mountains with farm homes and shacks perched on the slopes and herds of skinny cattle grazing on the yellow and green grass. Our driver was a big fan of 80s love ballads, and we got to listen to ¨Total Eclipse of the Heart¨three times.

We finally arrived at the north coast of Panama, and carried our packs to motorized canoes at the long wooden docks where some Kuna people were also waiting for a lift to the islands with things they had bought on the mainland, including a larger dresser and vanity mirror. We gringo students looked equally strange to the Kuna, with our huge backpacks, muddy hiking boots, dirty clothes, and bright orange life vests they made us wear.

We piled everything into a canoe and set off across the Caribeen bay. The sky was a little overcast but the water was beautiful blue-green. Back on the mainland we could see the outline of the thick green mountains, and in front of us were dozens of islands stacked with wood huts with thatched roofs. It looked like something you could only see in National Geographic.

The island we stayed on was uninhabited. It looked exactly like a screen saver of a desert island, except this one had tents set up for us and a cabana that sold cold beer. The first day we played in the clear green water all day, and then ate fresh caught fried fish, fresh pineapple, and rice for dinner. We slept in little individual tents right on shore line. I fell asleep listening to the waves rise and fall on the beach.

Our visit coincided with the Kuna´s celebration of gaining their indepenence from Panama in 1925. We were on the main island from early in the morning until sunset. It felt awkward to be a tourist walking around their village all day, but I soon realized our presence was welcome since tourism is now one of the Kuna's biggest sources of revenue.

The best past of the day was in the afternoon, when were invited to celebrate with the Kuna in the ceremonial hut. It was hot, and smokey, and cramped, and awesome. There was chanting and stomping and drumming. There were big vats of ´chicha´-- the Kuna´s traditional drink of fermented sugar, corn, and coffee. They shared it in big wooden bowls which they carried to us chanting and dancing. One of the guys in our group asked one of our guides (who reminded us a lot of Yoda and had the most contagious laugh I´ve ever heard) if it was impolite to not finish the bowl of chicha, and he responded with the rhetorical question, ¨When you make love to your wife, do you call your best friend over to finish for you!?¨

The last night we were there it rained allll niiighht llooong, and our tents got soaked. I decided at about 1 am just to stay awake and read and enjoy the storm on the beach. I read about 100 pages of East of Eden (which is a great book) and looked for shells on the beach with my head lamp. I watched the sun rise and was glad when it was finally light out. Actually, Joy and I got up to watch the sunrise all three mornings we were there. It´s a lot easier to get up early here in Panama.

It was a long journey back to Gamboa, and most of us hadn´t slept very much the night before. The ride back to the mainland was a little scary because the sea was rough from the storm and the waves were huge.

Now we´re back at La Mica for a couples days. Later this week we have free days, and I'm going to Panama City with Hanna and Courtney so I can use the archives for my history paper. I should probably get going-- I tagged along with the archeology group today and we´re going to the El Cano site about 30 minutes from this internet cafe. Chao!