My World With Dance: The San Blas Paradise

Sailing through the San Blas Islands has been one of the most memorable experiences so far on my trip. After all the running around I've been doing it was great to finally relax and actually vacation for 5 days. I boarded the Mintaka with 7 others in Portobelo and we sailed for 5 days to Cartagena, Colombia. Manfred, the captain, and his wife Petra were great hosts feeding us to the rim with delicious meals like lobster and fresh caught fish. On the final day we even caught 2 Yellow Finned Tunas weighing 13 and 17 kilos that served as an amazing supper!

There are over 350 islands off the coast of Panama with only a third of them inhabited. They are self governed by the Kuna people with hardly any interference from the Panamanian authorities. Here you find little rustic thatched huts among palm trees that belong on postcards illustrating a tropical paradise. The water surrounding the islands is clear but as you get deeper it changes to turquoise and finally it melts into an azure blue. Sail boats and catamarans anchor themselves along the shores and the Kunas often come to visit offering fish, crab, lobster or hand made molas and jewellery. The Kuna woman dress in traditional garments including a blouse, a mid length skirt, a head scarf, and a string of beads wrapped around their calves and forearms. Men, on the contrary, wear jeans or shorts with T-shirts and baseball caps.

We got to sit down with a chief running one of the islands and enjoy some coco locos which is a coconut topped off with rum that translates into crazy coconut. It was great to be able to ask questions and just interact with him and his 7th wife who joined us for some drinks. To clear things up, the first 6 either died, left, or divorced the guy. I must have had too many cocos as I asked him how much his wife was instead of how old she was. Everyone laughed as my cheeks turned bright red and I corrected myself immediately. She didn't seem to mind at all and even took it as a complement.

During the days the gang and I enjoyed our time snorkelling or simply lounging around in the water. There were so many star fish and the reef was amazing with bright fish and coral all around. We spotted sting rays and even a few ship wrecks. Stories of captains neglecting their boats are common in this area so you have to be very careful when choosing a ship. My recommendations is to find a captain who owns the boat and has a second crew member on board. Avoid overcrowded boats of more than 10 people because unless the ship is huge you will be over packed with little chance of enough safety equipment. Make sure to research your captains diligently and hopefully even see the boat before departure. Some captains have many names to hide the true tales about their ships. Lastly, make sure you are prepared for a 2 day crossing meaning you won't see any land for a full day.

I loved my time at the San Blas and really thanked myself for choosing this boat trip instead of the scary and shady boarder crossing. I would definitely recommend to take this trip if you are in the area and the Mintaka is a great boat to experience this tropical paradise!