Today was mostly a beach day at the Hollander Cayes, part of the San Blas archipelago, Panama. A sandy beach, snorkeling and natives selling handmade embroidered fabrics was the order of the day. Judy and I were on the first zodiac off the ship and returned shortly before noon. We relaxed, had lunch and a nap, started packing and had dinner with our friends Martha, Dale, Pam and Steven.

San Blas represents 378 coral islands that form a barrier reef off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Roughly 35 islands are inhabited; residents of one island had to be relocated to the mainland due to rising ocean levels. The Holandes Cay we visited today is home to four families. The kids attend boarding school on the mainland. This is vacation time so the kids were very much in evidence.

The San Blas archipelago is owned by the Kuna people. They also have a mainland community. They had been fierce enemies of the Emberá people we visited on the Darien peninsula and even today the elders view Emberás with suspicion. Not so much the younger generations. The Kuna favored English and French back then on the theory that the enemy of my enemy (i.e., the Spanish) is my friend.

The folks at Holandes were certainly friendly enough with us, especially since we were a major source of fabric sales. We contributed in our usual way. One difference between these people and the Emberá is that they expect to be paid if you take their photograph. We were warned ahead of time that the going rate is $1 per person photographed. So naturally when I found 10 kids in one spot I whipped out a ten spot and took the shot.

The snorkeling, for a small area close to shore, was pleasant with nice coral and a fair number of fish. See the photos.

This is our last night on the Le Bellot. Tomorrow we disembark at Colón and cross the isthmus to Panama City. We’ll stop in Gamboa for a wildlife cruise on the canal. Hopefully we can drive through Gamboa and find Elaine and Bill’s old home.

WiFi is nonexistent here so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to upload this blog. I The crossing last night was fairly bumpy and the captain seems to think tonight will be no different. He didn’t raise anchor until 9 PM so passengers could finish dinner before the worst of the wave action commences.

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