Seen one, seem 'em all
Fleck
Sun 25 Nov 2007 19:30
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Position 09:07.70N 77:85.70W
Kuna Villages, I mean, but not quite true,
as each village reveals something new,
together with the usual third world hassles. Currently we are off Ustupu: the
largest village of all, with 4,000 inhabitants. Most of them have been to visit
in their ulas, dug out canoes, wanting to sell something or other. I made the
mistake of placing an order for three mangoes for 50 cents each. An hour later I
was presented with two tiny unripe mangoes and some cucumbery fruits which were
quite inedible, and the guy wouldn't go away until I had given him three
dollors. Am staying below with the computer and the windows closed, but the
dugouts keep banging on the topsides with cries of Hola, from their
owners!
This morning I dinghyed up one of the mainland
rivers (Ustupu, like most villages is on an offlying, and very low lying
Island). This was an interesting trip. The river mouth is almost blocked by tree
trunks lying on the sandbar at the entrance: the trees get washed down on the
floods each year.For about a mile the river meandered through mangrove swamps,
then the banks became higher and cultivated areas of banannas (the
vegetable type, not our familiar fruits) and coconuts appeared. Each plot
is owned by a Kuna Family, and they travel to their farms by dug out canoe each
day. A couple of wealthy farmers had outboard motors, but hundreds of others had
simple paddles in their one or two man boats. The men do the important farming
work, whilst the women, wearing thier traditional costumes (Molas), do more
menial tasks: specifically dredging the river where it is shallow, filling their
ulas to within an inch of the gunwale and then paddling back to the village to
deposit the shale as landfil on the village pathways. Like Venice, the Kuna
Villages, or rather their islands are sinking?or is the sea rising? Ayway each
year islands become submerged reefs. Its difficult to know whether Tourists like
ourselves will destroy this unique culture before the forces of
Nature.
The downside of this part of the trip is the hot
humid weather, with a lot of rain: I have arranged a rainwater collecting system
on the bimini cover, and often get twenty litres of drinking water overnight.
this is good because the water is too dirty to use the ships watermaker. Mostly
the dirt is mud from the rivers, but the village toilets are wooden huts built
out over the sea, and they also keep pigs on the Islands in similar huts, so
they never have to clean them out!! It certainly puts you off
swimming.
Later next week I should be in the Western San
Blas, where there are coral reefs much further offshore: clear water and
swimming are promised by our guide book, but you learn to wait and
see!
Did you know that there are no roads between
Colombia and Pamana: everything, including backpackers, goes by sea or air. The
Darien Region, where we are, is the most unspoilt rainforrest in the World.
Having gone for a walk in it two days ago, I would say that this claim is
probably true. Legs still raw from plant scratches and insect
bites.
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