San Blas Islands

We arrived in Panama on 24 November 2024, but it took us until 16 December to be able to leave the marina, due to motor problems and the wait for parts to be delivered. They arrived on the 14th, Magnus was able to install them and get the motor running again, and after one day’s wait we set sail. First was Linton Bay, a place where we could anchor and break up the trip to San Blas, instead of having to sail overnight. We found a great pizzeria and met a Swedish-American couple on the boat Sumaya, then left early the next morning for the San Blas Islands.

Our first stop in San Blas was Caya de Limon, where our friends on Cohiba were anchored. It was a beautiful calm setting, tiny islands surrounded by coral reefs which stopped the waves and provided still waters. We snorkeled and swam, enjoying the ability to just dive off the back of the boat for the first time in a long time. A local Guna Yala Indian family greeted us as we arrived, and we bought some of their beautiful molas (pictured on the blog). They also asked us for help with charging their cell phone, which we gladly did; and also some milk for their children, which we also gladly offered.

After two days of leisurely exploring, we sailed down to the town of Nargana Yandup, at the mouth of the Rio Diablo. Our friends Angelina were there, and we were all going to take a river trip and hike. We went into the village early in the morning to start the hike, and were met by our two guides. Their boat was in disrepair, so we took Cohiba’s and Angelina’s dinghys into the river. The mouth of the river was full of prickly tree stumps from trees that had fallen into the river, it was a careful navigation until we were in calmer waters. There were still many submerged trees, and we drove over a couple but managed not to damage any motors or boats. After about an hour which also included a crocodile sighting, we reached our destination and started to hike into the jungle.

Initially we thought we were going to see a waterfall, but as we trekked further in, we started to realize that we most likely wouldn’t see one. So after 4 kilometers of hiking through lush foliage, we turned back. It was a lovely hike in any case, lots of birds, plants and insects were encountered. The river is the village source for water, and many boats travelled upstream to fetch water for drinking. Our guides pointed out places where it was ok to bathe downstream of where the drinking water is taken, and we saw several people bathing.

Upon our return to the village, we went back to buy some fresh vegetables. The village was situated across two tiny islands, and there were no vehicles of any type on the island. Only boats and canoes along the water. We met our guide pushing a wheelbarrow, which appeared to be a primary means of transporting heavy goods. Tiny “stores” sold diverse goods, and you had to know that a place had things for sale because often it was just an open window which you went up to and looked inside at the displayed goods.

Children ran up to us, people were very friendly and welcoming, and we found an assortment of vegetables using our poor Spanish and a translator app that our friend Eva had downloaded. We also bought little bread “sticks” that were a staple of the local fare. Our shopping accomplished and our legs well stretched by both the walk through the jungle and the village, we returned to our boats and prepared to move onwards.

The next day, we sailed with Cohiba to an anchorage called the “Swimming Pool”. It is a calm anchorage next to little islands which have a bar and restaurants, and as such are very popular with the local cruisers. Our buddy boat Abayomi joined us there, and we re-met Sumaya from Linton Bay. We swam and snorkeled with Cohiba and Abayomi, and generally enjoyed the anchorage. After a couple of days, Angelina re-joined us in preparation for Christmas.

Our Christmas celebration was a potluck on an island called “BBQ island” by local cruisers. Between us, Cohiba, Angelina and Abayomi; we had a great variety of dishes and also a real feeling of Swedish Christmas. We sang Swedish carols and drank Norwegian “Linje” Akvavit, ate Janssons temptation and vegetarian meatballs. Another Swedish boat, Cordelia, joined in after dinner. On Christmas day, we went to the little island restaurant and ate a fantastic lobster dinner with our friends from Sumaya and some of their boat friends. The holiday was very well celebrated.

After Christmas, we moved with Cohiba and Angelina to a little anchorage Acuakargana in the same archipelago, which was known to be a good snorkeling spot. There were lovely reefs to explore, and we saw a lot of different corals and fish. Our friends on Abayomi joined us also, and even our friends on Capricorn arrived from Santa Marta. It was a pleasant couple of days, where one day Magnus went ashore with Abayomi and came back with some freshly caught and freshly smoked fish, which made a yummy dinner.

After a couple of enjoyable days in Acuakargana, we sailed to Yansaladup where Angelina was already anchored. Yansaladup is surrounded by reefs, which made it tricky to sail in but absolutely wonderful in terms of snorkeling. We have been out every day, sometimes to two places, and have seen rays, nurse sharks and lion fish; in addition to all the regular reef fish. Yesterday we say little tiny newly hatched Sargent-Major fish, in addition to shrimp, sharks, rays and others.

New Year’s eve found us on the boat taking it easy, when a canoe with some local fishermen stopped by. We had met them a couple of days earlier, and even though we didn’t buy anything, we asked them if they needed anything. Yes, please – beer. After a small bit of deliberation, we gave them a couple beers, and they paddled away very happily. So on New Year’s eve, they remembered us fondly, sold us some fantastic newly caught lobster, and asked for a couple more beers. This time we traded the beers for a couple more lobster, and they once again went very happy on their way.

We have been longing to swim off the back of the boat, snorkel, and enjoy anchorages like we are doing in San Blas. It has met and exceeded our expectations. We plan on staying here as long as we can, until we have to go somewhere to get groceries or more cash. Otherwise, we are becoming more and more creative with every day in terms of cooking, and have managed to have a varied and enjoyable menu with the provisions we packed a couple of weeks ago.

That’s our news on New Year’s Day 2025, from Yansaladup, San Blas, Panama