Panama: Day 5

Tuesday, April 2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR, DEAR MOM, THE FIRST WITHOUT HER The dining porch is open today on three sides and with the constant breeze it is the most comfortable place on the island. So I'm sitting here after lunch to write. This morning's breakfast was eggs, a slice of American-type processed cheese, and two pancakes. Best of all they gave us big glasses of orange juice with it. Juan, who runs a tight, punctual or early ship (Carlo said, "He's more Swiss than I am!" and Cornelia enthusiastically agreed) had us on our way to the island village of Achutupu by about 9:30. Achuputu is bigger than Ailigandi and has the landing strip across from it on the mainland. But it has no hospital, just a clinic staffed by nurses that is visited once a week by the doctors from Ailigandi. It was similar to the day before but most of the children were in school since it was morning. We walked by the open buildings and could hear the chatter of children, some of whom would come to the doors and windows to give a cheery "Hola!" The Kuna children are amazingly friendly and eager to bid hello or even come up to hug. Lou and Janice Oien's poppers I brought to give as gifts were a big hit. At one point there were four kids playing and I gave them each a popper. Like magic we were surrounded by 20 or more other kids, all wanting one, too. Adults are more reticent. As we made our way through the village we stopped at places for Juan to give us information or to look at Molas and other crafts for sale. I had a traditional beaded bracelet wrapped onto my wrist at the same place we bought a little purse for Ana with a contemporary Mola of a parrot on it and we bought a traditional one of a geometric pattern to make a pillow for our couch. Although it was again overcast as we went to the village, the sun came out and it was really, really hot as we finished up and came back for lunch.

Arriving at Achutupu Island Village

School room

Molas!

Getting my beaded bracelet 

Walking through the village. Much more open than Ailigandi

Playing with Poppers 

Juan demonstrates a traditional sugar cane press

"Main Street" in Achutupu

Energy efficient Street Light

We had sort of a bouillabaisse of shrimp, octopus, squid, scallops, etc. while Marv had a smaller fish (served without its head this time). Then we had until 4:00 to relax. I got a lot of reading and writing done sitting in the dining hall with the pleasant wind blowing. For our last trip Juan and our "driver" took us over to the river, whose name means Clay Pot. The Kuna take their dead over here to bury them on the mainland beside the river. We passed many of the covered graves about which we had learned at Ailigandi.The river is lined with mangrove at the mouth and then becomes more hibiscus, cashew (their version, used for dugout canoes, not the nut variety), and towering bamboo. It was very quiet as we floated along and smelled lovely, not swampy or jungley in the way I expected. We didn't see any of the caimans, capuchins, boas, or monkeys they sometimes see. But we did see many birds to add to our list, including a tree full of ibis, with more swooping in to roost for the night. It was an amazing sight. When the river got too shallow our driver turned back and we arrived at the island in time for our last dinner, with a choice of chicken or fish and cross cut french fried potatoes which may or may not have come from the freezer section somewhere. The six of us lingered at the dining table until the staff left for the night and then we all retired to pack up in order to rise at 5:00 for departure in the morning.

Birding on the river

Great Kingfisher

Lineated Woodpecker (similar to a Pileated)

Kuna Yala Graveyard

Ibis tree

Our great staff--Juan, 2nd from left, Owner, Hector, 2nd from right

Cornelia, Kris, Marv, Carlos, Peggy, Heidi

I think this story sums up what we found to be true of the Kuna Yala: Beside the dining area and along the edge of the roof there were 3 or 4 handmade embroidered bags hanging. We sat at one of our meals guessing that they were full of herbs to ward off bad spirits or to flavor the food more sweetly or something equally magic. When Juan came over to us we asked him about the meaning of the bags. He pulled out a cell phone from one of them to show us and told us that's where they got the best signal. Such a clash of old and new is what we saw over and over in our time on the San Blas Islands.