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’. I read that the Gunas prefer their land to be called ‘Guna Yala’ instead of ‘San Blas’.
We are taking an off-the-beaten route visiting different Guna Indian Villages on the way to Panama Canal. Our first stop, the southern Guna village is ‘Anachucuna’ in Puerto Perme. There are lots of thatched-roof houses in the village. We took a dinghy to their village and exchanged smiles. There are less than 300 people live in this village. Some kids called me ‘Chino’ (Chinese) when I walked in the village. I told them ‘Koreana no Chino’. There were small stores and we wanted to buy something but ended up buying ‘Coco Cola’. Later, a fisherman and his three kids came up on our boat and sold us ‘Limes and a Coconut’. The Coconut meat was so thick and delicious. The local girls have beautiful hair: maybe from coconut oil in their nutrition. It is convenient that they use dollars here. In the morning, I loved the smell of cooking from burning wood. It reminded me of visiting my aunt’s house in the country when I was a little girl in Korea.