San Blas Islands (El Porvenir & Nanulega)
18 to 21 February 2007
With flight tickets we had bought over the web we left Panama City's domestic Albrook
Airport at about 6:00am, arriving about half an hour later at the El Porvenir ("The Future")
airstrip in the San Blas Islands.  The airfare was US$40.17 per person.  Our Aeroperlas
Regional Airlines flight was in a twin-engine 20-passenger DeHavilland Twin Otter 300
whose high wings were great for enjoying the scenery below and taking photos.
At the El Porvenir airstrip we were met by a boatman from the San Blas Hotel, where we had
made phone reservations (257-3311).  In a large dugout canoe powered by an outboard motor
we were taken on a ten-minute ride to the San Blas Hotel on the island of Nanulega, home of  
about  300 Kuna Indians.
Conditions at the San Blas Hotel were very primitive.  Our rooms were located one flight up;
the ground floor contains the kitchen and dining hall. The only furnishings in our room
consisted of a double bed and a twin bed; no chairs, no table, no electric outlets, no closet, no
hooks on which to hang our clothes, and electricity available only from about 6:00pm to
around 10:00pm.    The walls consisted of narrow vertical  wooden strips covered by hanging
sheets;  the walls between the rooms were about eight feet (2.5m) high, leaving about an
eight-foot (2.5m) space between the wall and the sloping roof.  Concrete floors. These
shortcomings seem to be similar at all the hotels in the Islands.  We believe the San Blas
Hotel is the best place to stay in the San Blas Islands because it is The San Blas Hotel is said
to be the only hotel which on the same island has a village of traditional Kuna Indians. We
consider that a very important advantage.  The San Blas Hotel's location also is very
convenient to the El Porvenir airstrip.   
On the left, the San
Blas Hotel on the beach
of the island of
Nanulega.  Our room
was on the upper floor
of the two-story main
building. Some other
rooms are in
sand-floored thatch
huts.   The yellow
building with the tank
on the roof contains
three communal
cold-water bathrooms.
To the right, our room in
the San Blas Hotel,
Nanulega Island, Panama.
The hotel charges US$35 per person per day, including all meals and one or two daily
excursions to unpopulated islands with beautiful tropical beaches.  Lunch and dinner
invariably included rice and seafood, but no fruit or green vegetables.  Breakfast always
consisted of instant coffee or tea, Cremora, two kinds of jam, margarine, bread, and two eggs.

The daily boat excursions to beautiful uninhabited island beaches were in large dugout
canoes with outboard motors,  with a capacity of about ten passengers; those islands were
generally about half an hour from Nanulega.  We very much enjoyed the outings to those
charming deserted tropical islands with their coconut trees, white sand beaches, and
transparent warm waters containing a multitude of aquatic life.  Great places for snorkeling.
Dock of the San Blas Hotel.  Nearly all docks in the
populated San Blas Islands have a toilet-cabin at the end,
making the sea by those islands unsuitable for swimming.
Our son John reading on the beach in front of the Hotel
San Blas.  Photo taken from our veranda.
Scene typical of the many
beautiful island beaches in
the San Blas Islands.
Thee beach of one of the many unpopulated islands.
Both men and women showed pride in being Kunas and gave no sign of subservience.  We and
other visitors seemed to be tolerated as a possible source of supplemental income, but not
catered to.  Kunas seem to be happy to live at they do, show great pride in their  traditional
culture and are making a strong efforts to maintain it.
I believe that the main reason for the very rudimentary nature of our accommodations in the
San Blas Islands was that only Kunas (who live a very basic physical existence) can own any
kind of business  (including hotels) there.
After three days in the San Blas Islands we flew from El Porvenir to Panama City, and the
following day from there to Bocas del Toro.  Our planes again were 20-passenger Otters.
Our visit to the San Blas Islands provided us with an unusual opportunity to experience a
very interesting  traditional culture so different from our own.
Passengers at the
El Porvenir airstrip
awaiting departure
to Panama City.
In addition to the 25-room San Blas Hotel the island of Nanulega  was also the home of
about 300 Kunas.  Practically all the women wore traditional Kuna dresses, beaded bracelets
and also unique intricate beadwork decorating their legs.  Some women also wore golden
nose-rings and a black vertical line painted on their foreheads.  Men usually wore shorts and
T-shirts.   The Kunas generally lived in sand-floored thatched huts without plumbing or
electricity.  We had wonderful opportunities to observe the Kunas on a daily basis in their
village and enjoyed having personal contact with them.

In the 1920's  the Kunas revolted and declared their independence from the Republic of
Panama.  A peace treaty between the Kunas and the Panamanian government established the
territory of "Kuna Yala" ("Land of the Kunas") which includes the San Blas Islands and the
nearby coastal mainland areas populated by Kunas.  Kuna Yala obtained a great deal of
autonomy, becoming largely self-governing, while remaining part of the Republic of Panama.  
Non-Kunas (even other Panamanians) are not permitted to live in Kuna Yala or own property
there.  

The main sources of income in Nanulega and the other San Blas Islands are fishing and the
sale of coconuts, beaded handicrafts, and "molas".  "Molas" are colorful fabric panels sewn
with an intricate reverse-aplique technique and used by Kuna women as part of their colorful
 traditional dress.

Some of the San Blas Islands are densely populated but many more are uninhabited  because
they lack fresh water, although coconuts are grown there.
Typical San Blas Islands  coconut grove.
Nanulega woman displaying mola she sold to Virginia.  
Kunas generally charge one U.S. dollar to permit a tourist
take their picture, unless the tourist bought something
from the Kuna.
Woman at the San Blas Hotel showing
the Mola Virginia bought from her.
San Blas island shop selling molas.
Nanulega motorized canoe flying Kuna Yala flag.  
Preparing to offer molas for sale, Nanulega, San Blas.
In the San Blas Islands, and later in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, John and Judy
snorkeled for seashells to add to Judy's large and beautiful shell collection.