Isla Monos to Nargana

Isla Monos & San Ignacio de Tupile - 09° 16.301’N & 78° 07.557’W

Isla Monos is a small uninhabited island a couple of miles away from the nearest Kuna village of San Ignacio de Tupile which we only visited once. For the first time, none of us really enjoyed the village. It somehow lacked the atmosphere of the previous, more traditional ones and the people weren’t as friendly. This could well be the change we’ll experience as we progress further westward towards civilization where the villagers are more used to tourists.

Snug Harbour & Playo Chico - 09° 19.660’N & 78° 15.080’W

A great spot with clear waters and gorgeous tiny islets covered in palm trees. Here we have been inundated with the locals arriving in their ulus selling lobster, langoustine, crabs, fish and fruits. We bought a large bag of langoustine which fed all four of us twice, and discovered that one large crab is sufficient for both Paul & I – they are absolutely humongous and oh so delicious!

The village is a relatively large and we have been able to buy a few vegetables from the trading boats which ply their way up the islands. When I say a few vegetables, I don’t mean anything too exciting. A few potatoes, onions and the pièce de résistance was a cabbage! We were also able to replenish our stocks of rum, beers and cokes for our evening sundowners from these traders – can’t do without them!

There has been nowhere to buy diesel since we left Cartagena but we managed to plead with several of the Colombia trading boats to sell us a few gallons, much needed as we dropped below our gravity feed level on the way here. We’ve had to motor far more than we’d prefer as it is incredibly tricky getting through the reef systems around the islands and would be nigh impossible to do so safely with sails up.

For a few dollars a day, we are living like kings surrounded by scenery usually only seen in holiday brochures. Apart from Lioness, our traveling buddies, we’ve only briefly seen one other yacht in one of the anchorages. This is definitely the ‘road less travelled’!

An ulu arrived alongside one morning wanting to sell their catch and I just heard Paul give a disheartened ‘Oh No’. When I went up to see what was wrong, they had a poor turtle dumped upside down in the bottom of their boat gasping for its life. We couldn’t bear it so ended by paying them $3 to put it back in the water. That was one very happy (and speedy) turtle but the chaps in the ulu paddled away laughing. I swear I could understand them talking about the ‘dumb gringos’. I hope we haven’t started a new means of fleecing future cruisers! Anyway, we felt a hell of a lot better and I’m sure the turtle did too.

We’ve met several missionary groups who come to the islands to teach religion, offer medical assistance or try to teach the Indians a more western culture. I’m sure, in a lot of respects, they do a lot of good and their intentions are admirable but I sometimes wonder what right we have to press our culture upon them. However, AIDS is quite prolific due to the fact that homosexuality is completely accepted as are the numerous transvestites we meet in each village. If they can be educated along these lines as well as how to conserve their diminishing resources from the sea for future generations, the remainder should be left up to them. As a whole, they appear untouched by the vagaries of our western civilization and the more traditional of them obviously want to keep it that way.

In these wonderful islands of paradise, there always has to be something to spoil things and, here, it’s the damned bugs! Bugs, bugs and more bugs! The worst amongst them are the no-see-ums, dreadful minuscule monstrosities that think and act like front-end loaders by taking chunks out of one’s skin and leaving behind an itch to beat all itches. I fail to understand how a creature which is so small can be large enough to inflict such pain and torture! If the wind isn’t blowing, they can make life a misery. Normal mosquito netting does not deter them so the crew of Calypso can be found hiding under sheets and blankets (great in such a hot climate) at dusk and dawn when they are at their most prolific. The remainder of the time we’ll be seen scratching ourselves raw – can’t win!

Isla Tigre – 09° 25.961’N & 78° 32.435’W

After an 18 mile run westwards, we anchored off the south side of Isla Tigre. Although this is another Kuna village, it appears the further west we proceed, the less traditional the villages and people become. Here was evidence of many televisions, more electricity and more western dress amongst the women. Still, beer was not permitted other than at the one restaurant and the ‘congreso’ remains in control of the villagers.

As we wandered around the island, we noted that the pigs in their cane pens really had the prime property as they were all housed along the beautiful north facing beach with a magnificent view. Here we also found, for the first time, small crops of corn, pumpkins and watermelons.

The nearby Rio Tigre is a small river but we managed to take our dinghies several miles upstream before running into shallows and fallen palms. These jungle river trips are always a great experience, lined by beautiful tropical plants, huge mango trees, mangrove trees, banana and coconut palms with plenty of evidence of crocodiles.

The night prior to us leaving this spot, the sky darkened dramatically and we looked up to see a thin long water spout only a couple of miles away. This is the first time we’ve seen one of these and the way it was churning up the sea beneath it, made us realize we didn’t want to experience too many more. It’s the rainy season in this part of the Caribbean right now so we have had plenty of heavy rains and overcast skies during our stay so far. Some of the squalls can be quite frightening so we always check and recheck our anchor to ensure it is holding well in all directions.

Nargana & Corazon de Jesus (Rio Diablo) - 09° 26.480’N & 78° 35.243’W

These islands are two communities united by a large steel bridge. Prior to arriving here, we had read that the two villages had opted to give up the traditional way of life in that the women no longer wear the colourful mola blouses, beaded legs and arms and gold nose rings and the sailas (chiefs) have little authority. In many ways, I find this sad as the traditional way of life is very family orientated, fairly strict and controlled but upright and decent. It’s interesting to note that this is the first island we have visited that has had to have a prison which is, we hear, quite full. It is also the first island we have heard loud music bellowing out of open doors. Western culture is not always desirable.

We were able to stock up on a few medical supplies as Nargana has a small but efficient clinic. We walked in and were charged the massive sum of 25 cents for a consultation which included weighing, blood pressure, temperature check and prescriptions for anything else we asked about. We were able to get some multi-vitamins, anti-histamines and a new stock of anti-biotics for our emergency kit. We left with a huge bag of ‘goodies’ which cost about $9.00!

The Kunas are very keen on just a few sports, the men play soccer and basketball and the women play volleyball. The women’s volleyball championships were held on these two islands during our stay so we were entertained several times to some really great matches. The women, as a whole, are so tiny it’s a wonder they can get anything over the nets which were definitely not lowered to accommodate them.

The nearby Rio Diablo offers another of those great trips upriver which make one feel as though Disney World has come to your doorstep. We had hoped to see white faced monkeys here but it appears they chose not to be on view that day.