Kuna Yala,Panama

We had light winds on our way to Obaldia Panama. Being this far south we are below the trade winds and see light and variable winds with frequent rain. We are at 8 deg 39.8 north which puts us a little over 500 miles from the equator. Puerto Obaldia is just a tiny town, more of a military outpost than a village. On our way to check in we were greeted at the dock by army solders. This is on the border with Columbia where the FARK still rebel. Also known as the San Blas, this is the land of the Kuna Indian tribes. Most live a traditional life style, fishing in dugout canoes and living in thatched roof huts. The woman make and sell beautiful molas and dress in a traditional style. They were very welcoming to outsiders wanting to visit their villages. They seem to inhabit the small islands instead of the mainland, some barley above the high tide water line. One island we saw water in the streets at high tide. We often had lobster and crab which we bought from the fishermen for $2 to $3 dollars each. To take pictures of the woman they wish to be paid a dollar each. At some of the western islands we had the women coming out to the boat in dugouts to sell there molas. It was cute at first but soon got annoying. We had all the molas we wanted and they didn't take no for an answer very well. This area is only charted in a guide book that we used to avoid the shoals. We had no real charts that showed this area in detail. The guide book was very good though. We spent 3 weeks traveling the islands that stretch approximately 200 miles along the southeastern Panama coast. We enjoyed the eastern communities more as they were less visited by outsiders and less focused on selling to tourists. Rain and lightning are regular events here. We have a light show every night and plenty of clean rain water to fill our tanks. There are quite a few boats that seem to have claimed one or two islands here and only leave to go to Cartagena or Colon to provision. We visited Puerto Escoses,Suledup,Isla Pinos, Usrupu, Aridup among others finally clearing out of Kuna Yala at Isla Porvenir.

A lot of motoring as there is not much wind down here.

Cartagena,Columbia

Columbia is a place that has had a lot of problems in the past but we found the coast very safe. Getting here was quite the ride from Radadero. This coast is known for its fierce conditions and we are here at the best time of year for moderate conditions. We left Radadero at 1:00 am and had a great downwind run to Punta Morro Hermosa . For this area we were seeing winds of 25 knots or so but the seas were running around 3 meters. We tucked in for a night of rest before motor sailing over to Cartagena. The city could be seen from a long ways off with all the high rise buildings along the water front. We anchored up by Club Nautico where an agent would be to assist (mandatory) us in clearing in. He spoke English very well and we had no problem understanding each other. There is not much to look at in the new city the real place of interest in the old city. The short walk there was quite nice also. The old city is very well preserved/ restored and takes several trips to see it all. 4 couples went out for dinner one night and had a pleasant walk back after dark. The old city really lights up at night and was quite a sight. The amount of vendors is hard to adjust to. They approach you everywhere, even when you are sitting in the cafes. They will line up and politely take a turn at you to try to sell you there wares. You get used to saying no real fast. Things are very inexpensive and most all you might want you can find here. Many boaters get work done here because of the cheep labor. With all the high rises we had expected a bright skyline, instead there were very few lights in these buildings. Made the city seem deserted. The harbor water was rather nasty and very warm at 90 deg. Growth on the bottom and ground tackle is incredible. Radadero 15NM sailed,
61 NM fast sail 9 3/4 hours to Punta Morro Hermosa, 52 NM to Cartagena 11 hours, sailed 3.