Panama, San Blas Islands, Gulf of San Blas – Carti Islands area

We have company coming so we are off to the Carti Islands region to pick him up.

We gave a ‘shout out’ on the cruisers net (SSB 8107 MHz 13:30 UTC) to get extra information from fellow sailors on the area and ‘boy oh boy’ did we get lots of advice. They were a fountain of information. At the end of the blog I will leave some of the what they told me.

In the end we decided to anchor up at Punta Redonda as there is a road in and you can anchor right off the dock. It also meant I would have a beach to run about on.

View of beach and docks off Punta Redonda.

And Steve arrived safe and sound after a wonderful drive through the mountains and jungles of Panama.

I have a new playmate.

Well we did not let him rest long. No time to recover from ‘jet lag’. We dragged him off to Carti Sugdup to pick up some beer and food.

We found the beer. Can you believe it was sold out of the bank in the centre of the island? We found some bakeries. Tiny huts with an oven, and we purchased some of the local buns. We found a few huts selling internet top up cards. Everyone wants a mobile phone now a days. There were a few veggies for sale, but it was obviously not the ‘best’ day of the week to shop as the pickings were poor. Still there were some bottled and canned goods to help stock us up.

We were told we should not miss the Kuna museum. But when we did find the tiny hut it was set up in, we just did not fancy it in the noon day heat. We used some of the $5/person fee towards a Kuna flag for the boat instead.

Carti Sugdup is not a totally traditional village. But many of the locals still dress traditionally and produce Molars to sell to the tourists.

The tiny alleys between the homes, and the shops that seemed to appear at the doorway of a home, was a ‘bit of’ a culture shock for our guest Steve.

We decided the anchorage was a lot calmer than we had been told, so we stayed for the night. Fun move, as we were serenaded by local music coming from the island. We could not decide if it was Kuna ‘Karaoke’ or the Kuna ‘Killers’. But it was lots of fun!

In the morning Steve felt he was in the back drop of a ‘David Attenborough’ documentary as the locals started heading out from the island in their dug out canoes and make shift sailing crafts.

But we are not going to let him get comfortable yet. Now we have ‘some’ food we are off to explore some of the multitude of uninhabited islands of the San Blas.

Visitors View (another prospective)

On arrival you are instantly struck by the sheer remoteness of where a journey from Europe can take you. To get from Panama City you have to take a ride in a seriously sturdy jeep. The driver will have you up early (0500) to avoid the most oppressive heat of the day and you wind your way out of the city and onto a main road that gradually gives way from buildings to a semi rural view. As the sun starts to rise you are hitting the edge of the jungle and traversing onto tracks; steep ascents and descents with a lush green covering of trees, ferns and other plants. The sun spreads its tentacles of warmth across the green canopy that carpets the area, gently glistening on the spiraling steam trails winding their way up ever higher. It is a fabulous three hour drive with the jeep at times seeming to have no firm ground below it as you twist and turn your way through the deep jungle. It is a clear and prominent reminder that you have found yourself far from home in another world – a world that seems set from a movie script and you are waiting for some long forgotten tribe to walk out on the path in front of you. Magical, slightly forboddin, spellbinding.

INFORMATION WE WERE GIVEN ON THE CARTI ISLANDS AREA

Suggested Anchorages

1) Carti Sugdup Island. We found that the sand was thin is the shallow areas, but we found holding in deeper water (12-16m). Docks for dingys are on the north side of the island. Good place usually to stock up. Some boats have complained that the anchorage can be rolly in some conditions. $5/person launch ride from mainland dock if picking up mates from the mainland.

2) Punta Cupula and Nonomulu Cay anchorage. Meant to be very calm and protected. One cruiser warned that they hit a coral head in the anchorage. Another warned that you can get ‘trapped’ in there if a very strong NE blow hits. Other cruisers really enjoyed the anchorage with not problems. $5/person launch ride from the mainland dock if picking up mates from the mainland.

3) Punta Radonda. Sandy beach with a reef off the point to give you protection. You can anchor right off the dock on the shore. Good holding in deep mangrove mud. There is a $2 fee if you use the dock. There is a road into this dock so you can pick up your own guests from here or have them brought to your boat ($5 launch ride fee).

4) Acuadup Island anchorage. Good protection behind a traditional island. Some stocks available. We were told it was a nice place to anchor if you were waiting on guests for a few days. $5 launch fee to your boat from the dock at Punta Radonda.