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. What we were told is that the cruisers cleaned the island and gathered together on this island for BBQ’s so that’s how the name came about. Now, the Guna maintain the island and charge US$3/person to visit. There are many charter boats that bring the tourists here. We did some snorkeling,

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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. The sun shines much better here than those islands close to the mainland, water is clear, and no bugs.

Many charter sailboats stay here one night or a couple of nights. It seems it is somewhat easy to visit this place.

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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, and a white powdery sand beach! New Year 2016, ‘Year of Red Monkey’, Cheers from Green Island (Kanlildup) in San Blas! On New Year’s Eve, I counted a total of 35 sailboats in this anchorage including some charter boats. It’s very pretty. It reminded of the British Virgin Islands seeing so many sailboats.

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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. The locals paddle their dugout canoe with 50 gallon containers to the river. They dump the river water from a small container to 50 gallons on their canoe. They paddle all the way back to a sailboat. They dump from a small container from 50 gallon containers to a sailboat.

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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, and we needed to watch ourselves entering the anchorage. “Look! There is another sailboat at the anchorage. That’s our friend, Soren from Sweden.” We were excited to see our friend’s boat. We last saw him in Curacao four months ago.

While dropping our anchor,

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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. The island itself is beautiful but the river dumps rain water to the sea. We didn’t really do much snorkeling or swimming yet.

One of things we recently have had a problem with is our garbage collected for two weeks.

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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. We cheerfully donated US$20. Next day, another man came to us for the anchorage fee (US$10).
The anchorage of this village is surrounded by reef. Entering the anchorage,

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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.
After seeing many islands, it is common to see piles of plastic bottles, old flip-flops, and Croc shoes (some fake) on shore or in the water. These days, where people live, everyone uses so many plastic bottles and packaged products. I am one of everyone.

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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. People put a nail high on the palm tree to hold the cellular phone to get the best signal. We have seen some solar panels and TV antennas in the most villages, but no internet so far.
The only way to visit this part of San Blas is by boat.

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