Fai Tira Blog Monday 1st February

Fai Tira in San Blas    Carti Islands  09:28.19N 78:57.85W

Monday morning saw us get moving quite early to paddle our blow up canoe up the River Torti.  We paddled along the coast trying to find the entrance amongst the mangrove trees. We eventually watched a man disappear into the tangle of routes so we followed.  The course got narrower and narrower until we got to two abandoned canoes and a dead end. We then had a problem trying to turn our canoe around which we eventually did. 

We headed back to the open sea and followed the coast south until we saw another canoe disappear into the mangroves.  We followed again but this time it opened out into a proper river, not very wide but a river all the same.  We had read about a Kuna cemetery on the right embankment and after a short distance found the path leading up to it.  We looked at the burial mounds where normal house hold objects had been placed around and on top. Each group of graves were covered by small thatched roofs to keep the rain off of the family plots.

The Kuna people of the adjacent islands have to get there fresh water from the upper reaches of this river,  there was a constant flow of canoes laden with plastic containers passing in both directions.  I tasted the water as we paddled further up the river and eventually it turned to fresh water.  Small fish lived on the edge of this divide not able to travel too far for fear of getting a mouth full of salt water.  We arrived at a point we could paddle no further as the river had turned into a fresh water stream.  A teenager was there with his two younger brothers filling up there containers and giving themselves a good scrubbing down.  We abandoned the canoe and ventured up the stream on foot for a little way before returning to the canoe and headed back down stream at a  leisurely pace.  On the way back we saw lizards, crabs, a big snake but no crocks.  We thoroughly enjoyed our adventure and headed back to Fai Tira to retrieve our washing. 

We then plotted a course through the coral heads to our next group of islands called the Carti Islands.  Described in the pilot as the most heavily populated and busiest islands in all of San Blas.  We arrived and anchored in 15 metres of water amongst 10 other boats none of them being BWR.  We were greeted by a local who  quoted us a dollar for taking our rubbish away.  John gave him 5 dollars and he paddled off.  We thought we would never see him again but he duly arrived back with 3 dollars change.  Well he made an extra buck!!  We then ventured off to one of the adjacent islands called Yantupu.  This is described as the prettiest here which turned out to be true.  We met up with two gap year back packers from England who were touring South America.  They both spoke perfect Spanish being language students so we asked them to order us all a beer (Yes I do know how to say that) and sat down and chatted under a thatched roof for an hour or so.  Whilst sitting there we watched a steel boat not unlike Fai Tira enter the anchorage, a similar colour with a stripe down the side.  On the way back we headed for it, and a lovely French lady came out and invited us on board for a chat.  Pierre her husband, popped his head out of the cabin with 4 beers. We had yet another magical time hearing about their boat and the adventures they had encountered.  It seems they had been wandering the world’s oceans for 8 years and had had 3 children whilst doing this.  There only home was there boat and they had no intentions of ever stopping this nomadic existence.

We returned to Fai Tira to eat and reflect on the days experiences.  What a full day it had been.

Bye for now Pete and John.