Kuna Yala

The passage across the Caribbean sea is considered to be one of the
roughest in the world. Starting in St. Lucia we set a course for Kuna
Yala (formerly San Blas islands), a passage of 1100 miles that would
take 8 nights. This was my first blue water and overnight passage.
Off the coast of Colombia we encountered heavy weather with 45 knot
winds and 10-15 foot seas. Sailing in these conditions can be
considered uncomfortable at best. We fared far better than most boats
in the fleet however. Some boats arrived in Kuna Yala with damaged
masts, torn sails, and malfunctioning radio equipment.
Piracy is also alive and well in these waters, mostly along the
Venezuelan and Colombian coasts. Only a month ago a yacht was boarded
by armed pirates outside Cartagena's harbour and all their electronic
equipment was stollen.
At 1:00 am on the 14th (my birthday) we finally reached our
destination. Being a moonless night in an area known for multiple
reefs made our decision to drop our anchor a very dangerous one. This
was not made any better by all available charts of Kuna Yala being
extremely inaccurate. Some of our electronic charts even placed us
directly on land while our sounding instruments indicated 70 feet of
water.
We attempted to approach a cluster of islands at the western end of
Coco Bandero Cays, with my uncle and myself at the bow to watch for
reefs. I happened to look up to see a white sand beach about 100 feet
in front of us. Our depth had suddenly dropped from 60 feet to 20
feet, so we swung around and made our way back our into deeper water,
fearing running aground on jagged reefs that had already claimed large
cargo ships and fishing boats. Our only choice was to wait for the
sun and make our way east to a better anchorage.

Kuna Yala is unlike anywhere in the world. Pure white sands and tall
coconut palm trees with hundreds of small, uninhabited (and inhabited)
islands. Coconuts are off limits to non-Kuna however as every island
belongs to a family, meaning that taking some would equate stealing
veggies from the neighbors garden (and yes, this is taken seriously).
Coconuts are also one of their primary exports and their main sources
of income.
The populated islands are inhabited by the Kuna people. They are
considered to be one of the most intact indigenous cultures in the
world, and function independantly while observing Panamanian laws in
conjunction with their own laws. They subsist on cultivating fruit
and vegetables, and hunting in the mainland portion of Kuna Yala,
which lies within Panama.

They live in traditional houses built with
hardwood frames and thatched with palm leaf. Typically these last up
to 15 years and are very effective at keeping out rain. The general
layout is simple, a dirt floor with hammocks for sleeping. Belongings
and clothing hang from the rafters, so the floor is generally free of
clutter. Houses vary from family to family of course, so we saw some
very clean houses and some that were not, just as you would in any
society.

They are probably best known for their Molas, a traditional art they
make by sewing layers of fabric together to produce a variety of
patterns and images. Animal motifs are common, but we prefer the
geometric designs which are more traditional. They traditonally used
fabric made from natural materials, but with the introduction of
cotton fabric, and brightly coloured fabric available in Panama City,
this skill appears to have all but died out.





To move about their nation of islands they use finely made dugout
canoes propelled by either sail, outboard motor, or paddle. They are
remarkably fast and agile craft, regardless of how they are powered.
Even the children have small, but very functional, versions of their
parents canoes that are accurate down to the last detail. These
watercraft are roughed out in the mainland jungles, then finished in
their village. Some villages are known for exceptionaly high quality
canoes.

Canoes in Acuadup, facing the Panama coast

We have found it impossible to trade goods with them, because American
dollars are all they will accept for Molas, seafood, or fruit.
Transactions are conducted in broken Spanish, English, and Kuna. We
try to learn as many Kuna words as we can, such as nuedi (thank you),
teki malo (goodbye), and jagi (dolphin, pronounced ou-ah-gee). They
seen pleasantly surprised to hear a few white folks saying thank you
in their native tongue.
They are also accustomed to asking for a dollar for photographs, a
practice that stems from seeing pictures of Kuna selling for a dollar
in Panama City.

Our first major village we entered was on the island of Acuadup.
Located west of the Carti Islands, it is not nearly as crowded as the
Carti Islands, and has quite a lot of vegetation (mangos, bananas,
Noni fruit, and almonds on expanses of grass). The houses are also
spaced apart, compared to the cramped quarters of the more populated
islands. This island also doesn't seem to be as heavily visited, so
as we walked through the village we were greeted more with people
simply going about their business than selling molas. Apart from the
school, all the houses are traditional as well.
A good book for information on the Kuna is Eric Bauhaus' guide The
Panama Cruising Guide, which has also been an invaluable source of
information during our travels in Kuna Yala.

Subsistance fishing and Marine life

Cruisers live a unique life off the grid, sailing from country to
country, often crossing large expanses of ocean to arrive at remote
locations that are far off most tourist maps. Living aboard an ocean
going vessel demands a certain amount of survival skills, since many
of the places they visit are far beyond even basic search and rescue.
Even in the Caribbean islands I have witnessed first hand how being in
a well populated area does not guarantee safety, when two fishermen
perished 16 miles from two well populated islands that are also very
popular tourist destinations.
Fishing is an excelent way to add to provisions taken on at port as
well as providing food when provisions run dry. Generally yachts take
on enough provisions for their journey or until the next port of call
they expect to be able to replenish at, which in some cases could be a
few months.
During our passage we were able to hook two good sized fish. In these
deep waters there are a lot of very large pelagic species that are
both abundant and generally Ciguatera free, such as Mahi-Mahi, Wahoo,
and Yellowfin Tuna. They are however very powerful so good tackle is
necessary or you will loose your gear. Even on 100 pound line we lost
2 lures and bent a hook. There are obviously some fish in the sea
that you would just as rather let get away then bring onboard.

This Wahoo was the biggest of the two fish, weighing in at
approximately 30 pounds. We use rum to kill fish we catch, this one
took quite a bit. You do have to be careful bringing big fish on
board. I've heard stories of people being hit in the head by tails,
and even a man who earned 30 stitches from a Spanish Marckarel that
sliced his leg with it's teeth.
It is prohibited for foreigners to collect sealife from the reefs
around the islands. Lobsters, crab, and even octopus are available
from the Kuna fishermen however. We avoid buying the lobsters now,
after seeing undersized ones being brought to us, but the Channel
Cling Crab is excelent eating that provides more meat than the
lobsters. Just like Blue Crabs in Maryland, the males are far better
eating, which fits in nicely with our prefured practic of leaving the
females alone.
They seem to be more available closer to the mainland though, since we
didn't see any until reaching the Carti Islands. They are found in
relatively shallow water, about 10 feet or so, and can be caught with
the help of a spear.


Snorkeling in Kuna Yala is quite good. Large fish can be hard to find
and are skittish. The reefs we explored had a number of brittle coral
that we have not seen elsewhere. Some interesting species we have
seen are Parrotfish with a Cleaner Wrasse and a Nurse Shark.
The Dog island wreck is an excelent snorkeling site. It was
intentially run aground in the 1950's while transporting rum. For it's
age it is in exceptional condition, with much of the weck's parts
easily recognizable. It's forward winches are above the water and are
the only parts visible from the surface. The stern lies in 15 feet of
water with her twin rudders visible at the bottom. Her aft hold is
easily accessible, sheltering a variety of species including a very
large snapper. Amidships you can find one of her two engines as well
as some tanks. Her forward hold is very open with the port side of
the hull missing.















Our travels will take us next to Las Perlas islands, the origin of
Queen Mary Tudor's "peregrina" pearl and site of the TV show Survivor.

All photographs credited to Trish Budd, reef photographs credited to
Elliot Budd

Leg 1: St Lucia-Kuna Yala

I have recently joined as crew of S/V Bristol Rose, a 43 foot sailing vessel bound for Australia. At noon tomorrow, we begin the 1000 mile leg to Kuna Yala (former San Blas Islands). Our journey is part ofthe World ARC, a circumnavigation of the globe with about 39 other sailing vessels. Very few boats are selected to join this rally, and it affords us an opportunity to safely transit the Panama Canal, and the Pacific. We will also have the opportunity to meet important officials in the countries we visit.
I will be posting more frequently on the various Islands and countries we visit, some of which are very remote and are seldom visited by anyone. I'm particularly excited about our first destination, which is a collection of islands, as well as parts of mainland Panama, that are controled by the Kuna people. The Kuna are indigenous to these islands, and are very friendly. They are also considered to be one of the most intact tribal cultures in the world, and they try very hard to keep it that way. Non-Kuna are not permitted to settle in these islands, not are Kuna permitted to intermarry with non Kuna. That being said they are a very friendly people and are welcomeing of guests, both tourists and cruisers alike.
The Islands themselves are small, with many coconuts. Each coconut belongs to someone, which is also common in the Pacific Islands, and so taking of fruit is considered stealing, just as taking corn or pumpkins from farmers in the states would be frowned upon. The snorkling is said to be excelent, so I am particularly looking forward to that aspect of visiting Kuna Yala.

For more information on the ARC or Bristol Rose, check out these links:

ARC Website

S/V Bristol Rose Blog

Primitive Tools in the Windward Islands

The Windward Islands of the southern Caribbean have a lengthy history with primitive peoples. Moving out of the South American continent, they settled their way across the islands in a series of migrations. Much has been written already on these peoples and their interactions, but little appears to b be available on their ways of life, skills, and tools. It is well known that the Arawak were sophisticated craftsmen who produced high quality pottery, but as of yet I have seen little of their lithics. This leads me to wonder what the natives of these islands were using to cut, scrape, gouge, saw, and drill.
I have spent much of my time in the islands seeking out museums with the answers, as well as looking to the environment itself for those answers.


You can see that with relatively little difficulty, one could put together a very useful toolkit. This kit is entirely made of local materials and using basic primitive skills. With this kit you can produce fire, butcher game, hunt, carve, produce stone drills, and produce a number of other tools.


The stone found here comes in varying degrees, which is very useful to primitive people or the survivalist. All of the stones I found are razor sharp, but are obviously more suited for certain tasks. The caramel coloured stone is probably the sharpest, but would not stand up to working wood. The grey stone is far more robust and could easily carve wood. Much of the islands here are volcanic, though obsidian is rare, if not non-existent.


Fiber is readily available from the palm trees. Both the trunk of the palm and the husk have very strong fibers. It can be somewhat wirey which makes me uncertain of whether it would work for fishing line. It would be suitable for all other tasks and I am certain it was a staple for primitive peoples in the islands.

As for fire I have had good success, even with wood simply collected from the beach. The set picture has been used several times and produces coals quickly and consistently.

Spearfishing

I caught my first fish with a 3 pronged spear, albeit a modern spear with the aid of my snorkling gear, but quite a feet regardless.
Peacock Flounder appear to be fairly common on the sandy areas around here. I saw two the day I caught this, including the one I speared. They're excellent at camouflage and if you strike and miss, they bury themselves in the sand and become impossible to locate.
The Peacock Flounder is a left eyed fish, and the one I stalked seemed rather cautious. My first attempt to approach directly and go slow seemed to alert it and sent it gliding over the sand to a patch of algae that it promptly blended into.
Mum prepared it, since this is apparently one of her favorite fish to eat. They have a lot of bones, so there is a certain amount of skill required to eat this without getting messy. This is also how it is served in restaurants. Flounders hav no scales, so it's cooked with the skin on, which you peel back, then eat the flesh from one side, using your knife to separate it from the ribs. Once finished on one side, you flip it using your knife to seperate the flesh from the underside as well.

Choco Seeds

Finally bored through enough choco seeds to put on my necklace. They use these in a lot of jewelry in Bequia, and apparently down into the Amazon as well. They're brilliantly red seeds that almost feel like they're made of glass. I used a small chert drill (stone found locally) and a fish tooth to drill them.

The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary

The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary is located on Bequia, SVG. We walked the 2 miles from Port Elizabeth to see Brother King and his sanctuary. He houses mostly Hawksbill turtles but also has Green Turtles and Red-Footed Tortoises. He runs his operation on his own money, so if you're looking for someone to donate to, this guy may be it. He is a retired fisherman who used to catch turtles, but has since dedicated his time to protecting the ocean he once fished.


The Hawksbill is actually quite aggressive compared to the Green Turtles. They fight with each other constantly and will bite you if you let your fingers too close. They do have brilliantly coloured shells however, which was one of the main reasons they were hunted prior to the introduction of plastic. Now they are primarily hunted for food with the shells discarded. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada are the only islands that have not stopped hunting turtles.

Adventure in the Windward Islands

I finally have pictures to post! It spans everything from Grenada to Bequia so this may end up being a decent sized post.
I'm starting to adapt to the resources and materials available here, it's obviously very different from the woodlands, and the needs of living in this environment are different too.
I was able to find Jasper in the hills around Tyrrel Bay, though it is some pretty burly stuff, and was difficult to spall. It ranges from almost yellow, to deep reds.
As for cordage, I have found a lot of agave and yucca, but that requires processing which I cannot do on the boat, so I have turned to the Coconut tree for fiber. The fibers inside the dry husks of coconut is surprisingly strong, and produces a decent cordage.

This was on a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Most of the bricks are pitted from the sea air, but this one stood out. Upon closer look, I found it to be a dog track impressed in the brick when still wet, then made perminent when the brick was fired.

Coconuts are of course, everywhere. The trick is being able to get them. This is made particularly difficult when people hammer nails into the sides of the palm.
Anyway, they grow in various stages with each stage being used for something. The water can range from quite sweet to sour, but it's all good and safe to drink, which is helpful on these islands where fresh water springs are sometimes non-existant.
Machetes (also called cutlasses on some islands), are a very useful tool down here, and are extremely common. One local told me that every house must have a machete, speaking to its usefulness. I've seen old women cutting tuna in the fish markets in St. George with large, English made machetes. The two cutlasses Elliot and I were able to purchase in St. George are Brazillian and have already proved quite useful.

The infamous Barracuda. Not nearly as aggressive as I've grown up thinking, they are incredibly common reef predators. The locals eat them regularly, and you have to ask at restaurants before you order fish, or you'll end up eating one of these. That is something to be avoided because they are known carriers of Ciguatera, as are other reef fish. I have eaten it since I've been down here, and it isn't bad, albeit a bit boney. Other fish we have had here are Red Hind and Snapper, which I much prefure.
I'm told the smaller Barracuda are safer, but for the most part we throw these back.

Aloe Vera grows abundantly here, which is fortunate for us people or European decent. The sun here is absolutely merciless at midday, and you really do have to watch your back. Definitely a good plant to have in a survival situation in these islands.

There are many types of lizards here, as well as Iguanas. Some of these types can get quite big, which makes them a possible survival food on the islands.
After anchoring in Chatham Bay, we heard from some locals that there was an abandoned British Fort in the hills around the bay. We were pointed in the direction of a dirt path leading up into the hills, so we set off to find this fort. The whole island used to be heavily defended against American Privateers, so forts seems to be relatively common on the island.
First interesting thing we noticed was as we left the beech behind, we noticed the trees were almost covered in these air plants. They're everywhere, growing on anything with a bare branch.

Some pretty rockey trails at parts, which I walked barefoot. It was like hunting for a lost city, and the trail became so dense in parts we had to use our machete to cut our way through.

Red Footed Tortoises are native to the island, and we found 5 along the trail. They seemed to be hanging out in little groups, which is quite different from the Box Turtles in the US. I'm not sure if the natives ate these, but Elliot says they can get up to a foot in length so it's possible. They were not afraid of us when we picked them up and are quite beautiful.

In some parts the canopy was quite dense, creating these open patches that were quite refreshing to be in.
There are many of these snakes, none of them are venomous. They're also very aware and it was hard to even get a picture of them before they vanished into the leaflitter.

In all reality, Fort Irene is probably on the hill behind me, but we were unable to find it. Should we have had another day in the bay, I would have just bushwacked my way up until I found it, but we weighed anchor later that day and left. I have no idea what kind of fort it was, or what was in it.