Island Month, Day Whatever: the San Blas Islands

As of 2008, I have officially been planning a trip to Central America for a decade. I am a little ashamed to admit that I am going to be 30 this year, and, despite my travel compulsion and my particularly obsessive interest in Latin America, I have never been there; initially the plan was to go in the summer of 1998, between my second and third years of university, but Central Asia ended up beckoning instead, and since then I have either been too broke to leave Europe, or too easily distracted from Latin America by my passionate interest in Africa, the Middle East and the Former Soviet Union. I’m clearly not going to make it there before I turn 30 (unless Cuba counts, which it doesn’t in my book; despite being Spanish-speaking, it’s firmly in the Caribbean), but I have decided: 2009 will be the year that I make it to Central America for at least a month, and to that end I have been reading up on the Lonely Planet Guide to Central America that I bought way, way back in the late 1990s, and which is still covered in the pencilled-scribbles of my 19-year-old self. 

Hence, the San Blas Islands, situated off Panama’s Atlantic coast. Central America’s Atlantic coast is studded with islands, like Belize’s Cayes or Honduras’s Bay Islands, but it’s the San Blas which have captured my interest the most, largely due to the Kuna Indians who live there, and who govern the islands as an autonomous province; according to this site (scroll down), they “maintain their own economic system, language, customs and culture with their distinctive dress, music, dance and legends”. For once, these islands aren’t a haven for scuba divers, as Kuna law forbids taking anything from the sea that a diver cannot reach with the air from their own lungs, though the snorkelling is said to be good. By the looks of it, the main thing to do on the islands is to learn about and experience Kuna culture, which sounds great to me. There are somewhere between 365 and 378 islands, depending on who you ask, stretching down towards the Colombian coast, though only 49 are inhabited; according to this site, the most interesting islands are Achutupu, Kagantupu and Coco Blanco.

In terms of getting there, while apparently it’s possible - if you have the time, and are starting from Colombia - to get there by boat from Colon, unfortunately (for those of us who hold that Flying Is Cheating) the most practical way of getting there is by air from Albrook Airport in Panama City; more details on Lonely Planet, here, but the main carriers are Aeroperlas and Air Panama; once there, it seems to be possible to island-hop by boat. Trip Advisor has some useful recommendations of accommodation here; there’s also a recommendation for a homestay (which would probably be my preferred option) here.

There’s an article about the San Blas on Lonely Planet, here, and one from the New York Times, here; Captain Bob (whoever he may be) has some photos of the San Blas Islands, and some pictures of the traditional molas (embroideries) made by the Kuna women here.