San Blas, finally

We finally made it to the San Blas islands on Monday. It is an archipelago of 350+ islands and islets set aside for the kuna Indians as it is their native land. The islands are coral covered with grass, palm tree and tropical plants. The grass is a spongy mossy substance covering everything around it. Like a dr. sues grass. The kuna’s culture centers around water, and rightly so since it surrounds them and defines their land. The rocks are coral, the wood palm. Until recently, they used coconuts as money; money literally grew on the trees. The kuna are a short race, around shannon’s size(4’11”).

The resort we stayed at consisted of several bamboo and eucalyptus huts thatched with palm and set our over the water on cement pilings. The island was the resort. The Indians did not speak much English. Again, other travelers translated for me. I did speak my first Spanish sentence; I ordered coffee. I know, I am such a Seattleite. Come to think of it, I don’t think I used a verb. Whatever. Everyone wanted to help Shannon and I. some took pictures of us to bring back to older family. The Chileans translated for us, the Spaniards constantly helped, exuding empathy. And the family from los Angeles welcomed me whenever Shannon slept. They taught me beginning yoga. Hilarious. Because shivastne(the end) is the letting go of self, I cannot participate. Instead of relaxing, I suddenly guard. I think they started to understand why when they looked at my tattoos later that day.

It rained much of the first day. We sat on the deck of our hut in a hammock and rocker, watching the rain on the water and simply relaxing. Mealtimes and to announce tours, the kuna would blow a conch shell. Excellent sound. Perfecto. Beside the food-room-thing was a natural refrigerator for the seafood, also known as an aquarium. The rocks kept crabs, sea-turtles(not for eating), lobsters, and conch where the cook could easily access them for our dinner. The crabs fought at night, extending their claws wide and circled each other, looking for an opening to pinch. Their claws-pan reached 2’. All over the islands we found snake holes, but they told us that these are crab holes.