Snug Harbour

Snug Harbour

We were not actually supposed to be here. A boat must clear into Panama, gain a cruising permit, then a permit to cruise in the semi-autonomous San Blas, then you can enter this area. This can only be done at either end of the San Blas region which would add some days of travel. Marcel was really keen to come to San Blas so when my friend 'the draft dodger', in Curaçao, suggested we just drop into the middle, where the Kuna indians won't care about the permits, then sail direct to Colon to clear in, I thought it a good risk to take. I wasn't prepared though, after the crowded sophistication of Europe, and the post-colonial madness of the Caribbean, for what we found here. The landscape is magnificent, rugged jungle rising up in a steamy mess, coral islands covered in coconut groves, magnificent bird life, some big herons or cranes or storks…, black hawks, and the Kuna indians, paddling and sailing their dugout canoes. Their life seems to be still very traditional, at least there was no mobile phone signal here!

The first visitor was Delion, who came offering 'Kuna bread'. This was a french stick, but just one inch thick and a foot long. And stale… he wanted one dollar for it, but we had no dollars, having just come from Europe. Eventually something was traded for the 'Kuna bread' and Marcel traded some beads and jewellery for fruit which was to arrive tomorrow. It didn't. However…. Delion did spend some time with us over the next day, sharing sprouted coconut on 'his' island, taking coffee with Steve, and the finale…. I kept joking to my crew that I wanted to ask him how much for his canoe, how much for his spear. Delion wants to know how much everything we have costs, and how much coconuts are in Australia, but I still didn't feel too good about asking the value of his most important (as I saw it) possessions. So, Steve says to me 'do you want to ask about the spear' and I shyly say 'no, no'. But Delion has many english words and immediately begins the process of selling us the spear!! Negotiations took about an hour. Steve was making huge efforts bringing out (remember we have no cash, or at least that was what I believed) valuable items like fishing lures and pocket knives, but Delion was not so impressed. Then Marcel brought out some of the old clothes he didn't want any more and things began to hot up! Delion liked the jacket and the shorts, but it was still not quite enough. Did we have a tin of meat? I rummaged around the shelves and found two appalling tins of fish from previous owners…. no I thought. Then I saw it!!! Andy had provisioned us a glass jar of 'sausages'! He must have been dying to eat them on the Atlantic, but it was fish fish fish, and thank the heavens for that. Delion liked the look of the jar of sausages and once assured that they were actually meat (perhaps we should feel a little guilty on that point?) the deal was done. Spear was ours! It's a great little spear, a good length for coral reefs, very heavy wood, very strong, surgical rubber tube for a sling, and extremely sturdy prongs with a new idea on me. I think the prongs have been gone over with thin welding wire to make a lot of small ridges. These hold the fish or lobster from sliding off. Can't wait to actually use it! It's more or less the same thing we made as teenagers in Taroona, just shorter and stronger. And the only kids with such good rubber in those days had mums who worked in the hospital!

Delion still hadn't brought the fruit for the beads, and wanted us to stay longer so he could 'honour us' with a lot of fruit, but with salt water in the motor we had to move on. As dark fell another canoe arrived, Delion's son in law. He didn't have Delion's language skills but where Delion's molas were rough and ugly, son in law's were finely stitched and beautiful designs. We couldn't work out why Steve was spending so much time looking at them when we had no money….. but he knew what he was up to. There WAS money all along, just in big notes. Steve chose some wonderful designs to take back to our loved ones. Word must have got out as another canoe came at first light to collect a $10 fee for anchoring, for which we were given a real paper receipt.