After leaving Cartagena, our ship sailed West toward Panama and dropped anchor about a mile off the coast of the San Blas Islands.
This chain of 360+ islands are home to the Kuna Indians. Our group of four left the ship in two different tenders: two went scuba diving, and two (including me) went snorkling in the crystal clear waters. We explored a coral reef and a shallow sunken shipwreck. Alas, I did not yet own an underwater camera. After a few hours we headed ashore to explore one of the islands.
On the beach there were about ten Kuna women selling various hand-crafted Molas (hand-stiched pieces of art). The Kuna themselves are interesting people. Small and quite, they have managed to hold onto their culture and traditions over the pressures of the past 400 years. Most traveled by dugout canoe, though there were a few fishing boats with motors.
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