Page 256 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

254 Guna Yala Western Guna Yala
uncomfortable. Make sure the boat has two engines and life island-hopping, partying venture offered by San Blas
jackets as a minimum, is robust enough to withstand the Adventures (Wsanblasadventures.com), which runs
waves, and preferably has a roof and satellite phone. between Cartí and Sapzurro in Colombia ($455), hugging
Island-hopping transfer A compromise between the the coastline and so avoiding the two-day open ocean
sailboat and the lancha transfer is the four-day crossing involved in sailing to/from Cartagena.
GETTInG aROunD
ORGANIZED TOURS cases is inevitably cheaper than renting a boat privately.
If you are on an organized tour (see box, p.252), inter- The best places to enquire are the main dock or fuel depot.
island transport will be arranged by your hosts. Included in Private boat rental The further east you travel, the less
the package will be one or two tours per day to another frequent and more expensive inter-island transport
beach or village-island, or to the mainland. Some lodgings becomes – in part because fuel costs are higher. You are
also offer optional excursions for set prices. Generally more likely to need to rent a private boat, which is fairly
though, if you want to visit somewhere not on the schedule easy (with some Spanish) but you will probably need to
you will need to pay for another boat and pilot. Cost will cover the fuel costs for the boatman’s return trip.
7 depend on the distance, the boat’s engine size and quality Cartí–Puerto Obaldía Fairly regular speedboat services
(see below) and the number of people wanting to do the between Cartí and Puerto Obaldía ($100) leave when they
trip. It will also depend on whether your lodgings have two have enough passengers to cover the fuel costs.
boats – not all do – although sometimes they manage to Alternatively, contact Andutu in Panama City (Av Justo
stagger timings for pickups and drop-offs. If you stay on a Arosemena and C 34; T6060 9104, Wandutu.com); they
populated village-island such as Playón Chico, you have run trips between Cartí and Capurganá in Colombia but can
more options for additional boat rental. drop you off at Puerto Obaldía and include land transfer
from Panama City in their rates.
INDEPENDENT TRAVEL Types of boat Always check out your boat transport
Inter-island transport Since there are no fixed before agreeing a price. It may be a customary paddled
itineraries or schedules for boats, you need to ask around dugout (ulu in Guna, cayuco in Spanish) for short distances,
about transport heading the way you want to go. This is a (sometimes leaking) motorized version with 15HP, or
relatively easy in the populated western region of the even a traditional canoe sailboat with a cotton-sheet sail
comarca, and not too difficult if you are heading westwards attached to a rough-hewn mast and boom. More often
in the general direction of Cartí from other parts of the than not however, these days, travel is in a fibreglass
region, since most islands have early-morning boats panga, or lancha, with a bigger engine, possibly with a roof
carrying Guna bound for Panama City. Transport in such to shade you from the sun.

Western Guna Yala
Most visitors to Guna Yala stay at the western end of the comarca. It’s more accessible
by land, sea and air than the rest of the region, with a good number of idyllic islets
and white-sand beaches – especially in the cayos Limones and Holandeses – better
snorkelling and more accommodation (most of it at the budget end). For independent
travellers, there is also more inter-island transport available (see above) and more shops
for supplies – in Gardi Sugdub and Río Sidra – though choice is limited and prices high.
The downside, of course, is that with greater exposure to tourism, especially in
communities that have put up with more than their fair share of insensitive visitors,
some Guna are understandably jaded with outsiders.

El Porvenir and around
The diminutive, scarcely inhabited island of EL PORVENIR (GAIGIRGORDUB) belies its
status as administrative capital of Guna Yala. A sliver of bare land, it barely manages to
squeeze on an airstrip (no longer in use) alongside a handful of buildings, including a
police post, hotel, museum and craft shop, plus a clump of palm trees. Though this is
not one of the more popular destinations, the water off El Porvenir’s thin strip of sand
is cleaner than at the more heavily populated neighbouring islands.

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