As promised in yesterday's post about exploring Panama City, here's my report on the San Blas Islands. We flew out to San Blas bright and early on Monday. Except we didn't really fly to San Blas. We just flew to the closest point from Panama itself (you can also drive there, but it requires 4x4s, and can take up to 10 hrs if the roads are really bad, so we opted to pay $20 more for the 20 min flight). We then took a 45 minute boat ride in choppy seas. The boat was completely exposed, so our only protection was in holding up a plastic table cloth to block the spray. I found myself debating what was worse - getting soaked by sea spray, or the burning in my arms. Luckily I got good at reading when we'd get splashed, so I could raise my arms only then.
We spent two days on a larger island, where we'd take daytrips to the beaches, and 2 days on a smaller island which had a nice beach itself, and from which we could easily travel to other beaches if we desired. I would highly recommend just staying on the smaller, more picturesque islands. On the big island everything was crowded, and our porch had a view of the cafeteria building's roof. On the small island we were in one of 3 cabins, and had a porch with a view of the ocean and some other islands. Much better.
We spent our days sunning, swimming, hammocking, combing the beach for shells, and snorkeling (props to kim for bringing a mask and snorkel, as they didn't have any on the island).
Some highlights / amusing moments
We spent two days on a larger island, where we'd take daytrips to the beaches, and 2 days on a smaller island which had a nice beach itself, and from which we could easily travel to other beaches if we desired. I would highly recommend just staying on the smaller, more picturesque islands. On the big island everything was crowded, and our porch had a view of the cafeteria building's roof. On the small island we were in one of 3 cabins, and had a porch with a view of the ocean and some other islands. Much better.
We spent our days sunning, swimming, hammocking, combing the beach for shells, and snorkeling (props to kim for bringing a mask and snorkel, as they didn't have any on the island).
Some highlights / amusing moments
- on our first morning we saw a dolphin right by the boat!
- one morning I ran 80 laps around a building in order to run 5 miles. Not cool. Oh, and a small chihuaha kept on chasing me, making my run even more fun.
- one of the islands had a sunken ship right off the shore, which had tons of cool coral growing on it, as well as lots of tropical fish
- night time is Ron time!
- all that relaxation was great, but by the time we got back we were all excited to return to civilization
I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:
me happy to have survived the flight in our tiny plane. Many of you have seen this first-hand (Kristen and Ani especially) but for those who don't already know, I'm not a huge fan of flying, and I'm REALLY not a fan of prop planes.
The "bathroom" at the Carti (San Blas) airport. It was basically the exact same as the bathroom in Slumdog Millionaire, except it was over the ocean, so i guess slightly more hygenic
Kim, Barb, and I at the entrance to the Waily lodge - our little slice of paradise
the Waily beach
me enjoying the fruits of my labor after opening a coconut myself. (No need to dwell on the fact that it took about 15 minutes and a good deal of cursing).
a few of the shells I found on the island. I wonder if any of them will make it home uncrushed.
kim and barb search for shells - too bad for them I already got all the good ones!
hanging out on a palm tree
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