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| Kuna Yala in more detail |
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| Provinces and Comarcas |
These maps show where Kuna Yala is with relation to other parts of Panama (left), and more detail of the area itself (right).
Tuesday long before dawn (4:30ish), David and I headed to Allbrook Airport, which is the domestic airport, to head up to Kuna Yala in a Twin Otter that looked like it had seen many, many similar flights. The airport itself lost power several times while we were waiting to board, which did not inspire confidence, but it was dawn when we left, and the power was back on.
We climbed (literally) into the Twin Otter, buckled up, and sped away. We flew over the UTP campus (I waved at all of you there) We flew over the countryside and quickly crossed the country, which is about 40 miles across, although since we flew diagonally across the country, it was a 150 mile flight. And Loud.
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| Our plane |
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| UTP campus (my building is the largest one ) |
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| Luckily we didn't need this! |
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| Achutupu airport |
Our first stop was at the Achutupu airport (shown to the right) There, boxes of food and other goods were unloaded by Kuna women, and one person boarded. David had seen the airstrip from the air and thought that it was abandoned - it definitely felt like we were landing on a remote strip in a very far away place.
We quickly were on our way again. Flying up the coast, we could see the islands below and the Kuna people out fishing in their dugout canoes, some of which had sails.
Then we landed a second time, this time at Playon Chico where we were getting out.  |
| Unloading at Playon Chico
Once again, Kuna women and men came out to unload food and supplies from the nose of the plane as well as its rear cargo hold.
  
The airport was slightly bigger than that at Achutupu, abutted a school, and contained a Computer Lab ("Centro de Computacion") that was partially funded by the Yandup Lodge to which we were headed.
There were also a large number of sticks carved to look like people. David, the son of the owner of Yandup, told me that there had recently been a number of children who had had seizures. The churches said that the children were possessed by demons. The community tried both traditional and Western medicine to treat the problem, but the seizures continued. Finally, they closed the entire community (including the airport) and had another healer come to exorcise the demons. The carved people were used in this ceremony and have remained there as a sort of "cloud of witnesses" and spirit guides for the community.
The community is called "Ukupseni." It is connected to the mainland by a long bridge to make it easier for kids to go to school and for supplies to make their way into the community.
But because we were heading out to Yandup, we all climbed into a water taxi-like boat, and motored out across the lagoon to our "Island in Paradise."
Because it was still very early (like 7:30ish), we were served a yummy breakfast, and then repaired to our cottage where we spent much of the rest of the day sleeping in the hammocks on the porch. It was delightful! And man, were we sleep-deprived!
This is one of my favorite pictures of David, relaxed and happy. We got up for lunch, of course, and then retired again to our hammocks.
It was heavenly!
We had no idea we could sleep SO LONG and still be able to sleep at night! I think it was a measure of just how tired we have both been these last few months (or perhaps years?)
 The bed was also inviting - hung as it was with mosquito netting. We didn't actually see any mosquitoes until the last night, after a day of rain, but it gave us a sense of security, given the presence of Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever in the San Blas Islands (We both had immunization against Yellow Fever and took anti-malarials but there is no prevention for Dengue other than avoiding being bitten) 
Looking up at the ceiling of the cabin we saw the intricate structure of the cabin, constructed with lashing instead of nails for the most part. It was breezy because the "windows" were simply grills (with curtains for more privacy) There were no locks on doors, and no place to sit and write or bead inside. Outside, there were 2 hammocks and a chair.
Heaven!
 
See how relaxed we both look?
Indeed, we were so relaxed and so in need to just having some time together, we extended our stay by a day - so it was 3 days instead of 2. I asked the manager to send an email to tell Rogelio (Lydia's brother who has been driving us and was to pick us up at the airport on Thursday) and Karla (who was going to pick us up to take us to a party at the Embassy on Thursday evening) that we were going to be delaying our return as well as Dalys deGracia at the Embassy to send our regrets about missing the Gala. He assured me that he would and then later, that he did. But unfortunately, his emails never arrived, and as a result, they both waited for us yesterday. :-(
But this was the only SNAFU.
The weather on Tuesday was glorious, as it was on Wednesday. We went to the Kuna village where we learned about Kuna culture on Tuesday, and to the beach to swim and snorkel with the group on Wednesday It was fabulous. We were encouraged not to take our cameras to the Community so we left them behind however. Luckily, we had another opportunity on Thursday afternoon.
       
Thursday arrived with a huge (!!!!) wind that flipped the hammocks and threatened to blow things like swim suits, towels and pares off the railings of the porch.
Then, the rain started. Torrential rain that beat down on the roof and washed the porch as it was blown by the wind.
 But that was OK too, because it's lovely to sleep to the accompaniment of wind, rain and ocean. We didn't sleep in the hammocks, but that was OK because the bed was lovely too. Ah....
The air was squally and the wind still strong when, at breakfast, we all watched as the Twin Otter arrived with new guests. Or at least as it tried to arrive with the new guests. It circled the airport several times, and aborted a landing - it looked very close to the runway when it abruptly climbed back up. It swung around and circled some more, but then headed West - returning in a few minutes. But since it still hadn't cleared up enough to land, it went off East in the direction of Achuputu.
About an hour later, the plane returned. By this time, the wind and rain had abated somewhat, and it was able to land - although it still took two passes. The new guests were thoroughly soaked when they arrived and they told of a very harrowing flight. The pilot was calm throughout at least. But I wondered if perhaps the new barf bags in the backs of the seats when we returned today were a result of yesterday's ordeal, for the passengers at least.
Thursday evening, while David read, I went back to the Kuna Community.
This time, David, the son of the owner, was our guide. It's great when you see different things differently, and this tour was no exception.
This time, we learned about the Kuna rebellion of 1925 when the Panamanian government tried to suppress the Kuna people and make them "Panamanians" - abolishing their language, religion, and social structures - at least on paper. Indeed, the Kuna rebellion started from this very village. The Kunas, aided by the US Government, were eventually able to negotiate a settlement that granted them semi-autonomous status for their region.
Some of the photos from the second trip to the village:
            
We also had one of those "Small World" experiences. We were sitting next to a lovely couple from New York City the first day. The woman, Melanie, said she worked in cosmetics. We mentioned that my wonderful sister-in-law, Teri, works at Coty, and guess what? Melanie used to work for her!!!!! All this way away and there's this connection!
The man, Frenel, is a gifted guy too. In addition to his "day job" in advertising, he also makes hats. Really high end gorgeous hats. Our thoughts immediately turned to our dear friend, John Meegan, in Minneapolis, who is an entrepreneurial tailor and who has a most amazing business dressing the movers and shakers of the world with custom and high end clothing and accessories. We plan to connect them.
And lest you think that I left my beads at home, think again. ;-) I made bracelets for the other guests and the men who work at Yandup, and necklaces for the women who work there. I gave these the last night.
 
And so it was that this morning, long before the crack of dawn, we took our luggage down to the boat, grabbed a coffee and bread, and said our good-byes to the good people of Yandup.
I will definitely be back while I am here in Panama, and who knows, David and I may also come back in the future. It was paradisiacal and an experience that will live in our memories forever.
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