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| Green Island. |
From Rio Diablo, we sailed to Green Island. It
only took us an hour from taking up the anchor to putting it back down and yes,
we sailed the WHOLE 6nmiles. The prevailing winds are NE, and we are travelling
NW up the island chain. The one downside to being in these parts are there are
plenty of other boats, but it is not nearly as crowded as the anchorages have
become in the East Caribbean.
Green Island – well we walked around most of the island, swam in the perfect waters and just enjoyed our time swinging on the anchor. I don’t want to make you all envious, but I think over the last few blog
posts, I am going to sound like a stuck record. One negative are the flies and bugs. If the wind is not blowing, it’s not fun being outside particularly at sunset. While we were at Green Island many charter boats spent time in the anchorage. They would drop their anchor around lunch time, some would spend the night but by mid-morning the following day, they would be heading off somewhere else.
The
weather turned on us as well while at Green Island. According to the forecast
it stated Tuesday (24th February) would be a very wet, windy and
overcast day, so we thought we would head over to another small island, Esnasdup,
which
One of the little boys on Green Island
was keen to show us the starfish.
would provide us with the necessary wind protection. However, the awful
weather came through on the Monday (23rd February), so we spent the
day bunkered down on the boat, keeping a watchful eye on the anchor alarm and
other boats. Tuesday 24th February, ended up being a wonderful,
sunny blue sky, type of day, so we headed for Esnasdup.
There wasn’t much to do in Esnasdup as the island
was covered in palm trees and the beach line was small, depending on the tide.
The waters were lovely and clear – I have found the temperature of the water to
be perfect as I struggle to stay in waters that are too cold (below 28degrees –
I know, ridiculous). We spent 4 days in Esnasdup and ventured to the other
small island close by called Banerdup where there was a small shop selling
fruit and vegetables. Every day we were visited by at least one boat selling
either mola’s or fruit and vegetables. Although our food stocks are running
extremely low, we certainly will not be starving due to the lovely fresh fruit
and vegetables available.
While we were in Esnasdup, the Guna Revolution
celebrations took place – February 25.
Banedup - what was available on the
island.
A little bit of history…Back in 1750, the Gunas
became uncharacteristically violent against the settlers, who at the time were
mainly Spanish. A treaty was signed between the Spanish authorities of Gran
Colombia in 1785 and the high chief of the Gunas. This allowed them to live in
peace, and it is when the coconut trade between the two ‘countries’ started. Unfortunately,
at the present time, this trade is not going very well for the Gunas as it
seems the Colombians don’t want as many coconuts as before.
In 1903 the Republic of Panama was established,
and repressive police posts were established. A Latino Governor, elected by the
Panamanian government and residing in Porvenir (one of the main entry points to
the Guna Yala area) was established to rule over the Guna Yala as a form of
dictatorship. The Gunas were still very loyal to the Colombians which lead to
many clashes between the Panamanian authorities and the Guna people/warriors.
On February 21, 1925, the Guna warriors rebelled, killing Panamanian police and
Gunas of mixed heritage. This rebellion was called the ‘Holocausto de las
Razas’ – hence the flag and the swastika which has no connection to the Nazi
symbol.
After the rebellion, Cacique or the high chief
declared total independence under the name of the Guna Yala ‘Republic of the Guna’.
When this news reached the government in Panama City, a military campaign was
launched. However, due to the quick intervention of the USA Navy, the U.S.S.
Cleveland, an awful and bloody retaliation was prevented. Since then, the Guna
people live in relative peace with the Panamanian government.
Guna Yala is officially part of Panama,
but it is ruled autonomously by the Guna general ‘congreso.’
On March 4, 1925, the Gunas agreed to be
part of the Republic of Panama, under condition that the Panamanian government
respect their tribal laws, traditions and culture in the Comarca de Guna Yala.
Subsequently, there have been movements towards independence, marked by partial
autonomy in 1930, the recognition as an official reserve in 1938, the Guna
constitution in 1945 and the grant of full administrative and juridical powers
in 1953 – information taken directly from The Panama Cruising Guide, 3rd
Edition by Eric Bauhaus pg. 206
To quote Nele Kantule “We respect and
admire the great cultures of the world, and we hope to be respected as a
dignified and humane people”.
PRIDE, IDENTITY AND RESISTANCE OF THE
GUNA PEOPLE – this is one of their sayings/mottos.
After 4 days at Esnasdup, we decided to head up
to the Holandes chain of islands. These islands are the furthest islands away
from the mainland. They are only about 10nmiles from the mainland so many day
East Holandes - Banedup.
trippers also make their way to the Holandes. We sailed to Banedup – it was a
very slow but comfortable sail. The anchorage is very popular, so it was quite
full when we arrived, and over the course of the time we were anchored here, it
emptied out but soon became full again.
While we were in Banedup, we were visited by
Chandra – an ophthalmologist from Bunbury W.A. Like us, he spends half the year
on his huge cat and the other half working in Bunbury. We also met up with
Wayne and Rosiland from Sydney who are doing a circumnavigation on their kat –
CathayOz. They will be going through the Panama Canal in three weeks’ time.
We were
also fortunate to meet up with a couple who we had met briefly before leaving
the marina in Santa Marta, Karin and Jeroen from the Netherlands on their boat,
White Pearl. We spent an enjoyable time together over lunch at one of the two
restaurants found on the island of Banedup. They have been sailing for over 6
years and are in the process of selling their boat as they prepare for the next
chapter of their adventures.
While in Banedup we enjoyed the beach – it was a
lovely big beach by San Blas standards, where we could feel like you’ve done
some exercise. Not much but some. There were two restaurants, as mentioned
previously, with equally as good food, service and Starlink!!!!
The one thing we have noticed while being in Guna Yala is the amount of albino people. You can only feel sorry for them as the sun and UV is high and they must keep themselves completely covered. A few have asked if we have any sunscreen, which we have given what we can of our supplies. One of the reasons for this is that since the 1925 revolution, no Guna is allowed to marry a non-Guna. If this happens, they can be expelled from the Guna Yala. (and I am not sure what happened when Pablo from Mamitupu married an English lady).
Our time on Passages is ending as we prepare to
make our way further west, towards Shelter Bay Marina – Colon.
We are hoping to sail to the Lemmon Cays, which
also has an anchorage called Banedup and then to Chichime which is one of the
last anchorages on the western side of the Guna Yala. From this point, we will
be sailing along the coastline of Panama and no longer in the Guna Yala area.
Our plan is to take a week sailing along the coastline stopping off at two
anchorages along the way, as these sails will be quite short. The longest sail
will be from Chichime, Guna Yala to Linton Bay anchorage, Panama. This will be
approximately 40nmiles – which we hope will only take us about 6 hours as the
wind should be aft of beam – not quite behind us, but on our side.
The next blog post will be our last for this
sailing season and as I always tend to do, is reflect on the season we have
had. It will be quite interesting going into Shelter Bay Marina, as we must
pass through the main entry point of the Panama Canal, where EVERY vessel MUST
go through on their way to the Canal.
So, until next time…..
Take care, keep well, and stay safe.
Best wishes, always
Mel and Caryn
