December 8th, Panamanian Mother’s Day in Suledup Island, San Blas

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. The chief wrote a receipt after we paid $10 for staying at the anchorage and explained that it covers staying at the nearby islands as well.In the afternoon, as the sun appeared, we decided to go to the island. The sun helps us to see the bottom of the water when approaching a new location. After one hour motoring, we arrived in the Suledup island anchorage. This island is more than 100 meters high (altitude). We wanted to anchor close to another village (Caledonia) but the anchor didn’t settle well. It is a little far from the village but we can ride a dinghy to the village tomorrow. We were told that each village has a village meeting in the evening. When sun goes down, and the village gets dark. Everyone gathers and discusses matters together every night.There are nearly 400 islands in San Blas Archipelago. We have been out of touch for a while. So far, we haven’t seen any other sailboats yet. We were the only sailboat wherever we have been in San Blas. However, I hear remote sound in Spanish from a village speaker. It is Panamanian Mother’s Day today, December 8, 2015. There must be a celebration in the village.