Catch up pics - Passage to San Blas

Lochmarin
Sat 8 Feb 2014 13:48
Santa Marta looking back... mountains dwarfing the tower blocks, a white cloud blanketing the peaks.

The brown swell rising behind us as we sailed past the mouth of the Magdalena River.

Sun setting on passage - no green flash tonight!


A couple of Islands coming into San Blas.

Porvenir. You can see almost all of the Island in this shot, there's just a few more trees to the right.

This is where the airport and customs and immigration are - you can just make out the yellow wind sock for the run way 1/5 in from the left. The run way has been extended into the sea with huge sand bags. There's also a little museum with examples of local crafts, a replica of a grave and lots of information about their culture. For example, one of the most celebrated occasions in the lives of the Kuna is when a girl starts her menses, her periods as we would say (Americans think they are full stops). The girl herself has all her hair cut off and has to stay isolated in a small hut, whilst the rest of the village drink "Chicha", a kind of grog brewed from sugar cane, and the men dance like wild things around the place!

We had fun looking at the Island names on the charts as we approached -names like Yansaladup, Uchutupu Pipigua, Nuinudup and Wichubuala. Instead of just names to giggle over these places would become real to us over the next couple of weeks as we explored, found favourite anchorages and built memories.

The hotel at Porvenir.