Panama uses US dollars. I brought lots of small denomination bills before visiting San Blas as we had read to do so in another cruisers blog. It was helpful to buy coconuts, vegetables, and lobsters from the Guna Indians because they usually don’t have change. I still have a plenty of small bills left.

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The water in Holandes Cays is the prettiest in San Blas. We liked the BBQ Island anchorage area. It is John’s favorite anchorage in whole San Blas so far. The anchorage is sandy and not so deep with good holding. BBQ Island is very well-maintained with green grass and palm trees.

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The ‘Moon’ Panama travel guide book is correct. ‘Coco Bandero Islands are stunningly beautiful!’ It is the most gorgeous set of islands I have ever visited.

We are in the East Anchorage of the Coco Bandero Islands in the middle of four islands. It is easy to swim or kayak from the boat to the islands.

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There are four well-known places in San Blas for cruisers and tourists: Green Island, Coco Banderos Cays, Holandes Cays, and Lemmon Cays. These islands are even called in their English names rather than something ‘tupu’ or ‘dup’. (Meaning ‘Island’ in Guna language.)

Clear water, blue sky,

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The village near Rio Diablo goes by many names: Nargana (Yandup) and Corazon de Jesus (Akuanusatupu). I just call it ‘Rio Diablo’. Cruisers come to this town to get fresh produce and fresh water. This town is no longer a traditional village. Some cruisers buy water from the local people delivered from this river.

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The sea was beating us on the way to our next stop, Ratones Islands (Aridup). Looking at the Ratones Islands, due to the rolly waves, we immediately changed our plan to go to Snug Harbor near Playon Chico Village (Charged us US$10 for Anchorage Fee). This area is unchartered. There are reefs and rocks,

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For the last two weeks, we have been slowly stopping at San Blas Islands and villages from South/East to North/West direction. We are about 1/3 up the San Blas. Those islands we have visited are traditional, not touristic, and secluded from the world. Most of the islands are near the main land close by a river which is a source of water to the Gunas.

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We arrived at Mamitupu Island just before lunch time. After we set our anchor, dugout canoes (Ulus) came to us one by one trying to sell their harvest from the jungle. We bought a bunch of green bananas, regular bananas, and limes from a different local canoe. Later, the village secretary came to us with the chief and vice-chief and asked us for a donation to buy rice for upcoming Village Christmas party.

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Three hours after we departed Pinos Island, we arrived at a new place, Ustupu Island. (Anchorage Fee US$15) There are two villages on this island: Ustupu and Ogobsucun. Ustupu Island is the most populated island in San Blas with around 10,000 people (Both Villages). Approaching the island, we saw lots of plastic trash floating on the water.

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When we visited the village, we saw some village people walking together up the coast. It was far away from the village. I asked them why they walk so far away. They told me that they want to call Panama. At a certain location, they can get a cellular phone connection from the mainland.

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A new place, Mulatupu! As we entered the anchorage, we saw two wooden sticks on the water. Should we go around or in between the wooden sticks in the water? When we were about to go around, a fishermen shouted to us from far away and signed us ‘go straight in between’.

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Two young men showed up early in the morning asking for the anchorage fee in their village, Caledonia. They rowed their dugout boat to collect US$10 from us. That was a long way to row, just for US$10. They told us, they have an average of five boats a month visiting here.

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Rainy and cloudy! It felt cool and nice. In the mist, a village chief with four young men came to our boat. I noticed a young man wore a thick winter jacket while another man was without a shirt. They motored their dugout boat from a village, 10 miles away in order to care for their crop in this area.

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Entering the ‘Puerto Escoses’ (Meaning ‘Scottish Port’ in Spanish) anchorage needs careful attention. We found charts are sometimes not exact. On a guide book, it mentioned a small rock (3 feet high) sticking out on the water. We definitely didn’t want to hit this rock. ‘I see the rock. It is over there’,

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We entered Panamanian waters after motoring from Colombia. I should say we are now in the Guna Indian Reservation area. In 2011, the Gunas managed to get the Panamanian government to recognize them as the Guna people. There is no ‘K’ in the Guna language. Now, more people use ‘Guna’ instead of ‘Kuna’ or ‘Cuna’.

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