Page 259 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

Western Guna Yala Guna Yala 257
The Gardi islands and around
The road connecting Panama City funnels backpackers and day-trippers into the
Cartí docks. Just a coconut’s throw away, the GARDI (CARTÍ) ISLANDS, together with the
tiny uninhabited palm-covered retreats of Icodub (Isla Aguja), Achuerdub (Isla Ansuelo)
and Aridub (Isla Iguana) nearby, experience the greatest number of tourists in the
archipelago, and day-trippers in particular. The best recommendation is to stay on one
of the smaller islands – Gardi Yandub if you want to sample Guna village life, or Icodub
for the desert-island experience – and drop by Gardi Sugdub during the day to visit the
excellent museum, or in the evening if there’s a community event.

Gardi Sugdub
Close to the mainland, densely populated Gardi Sugdub – a favourite pit stop for
cruise-ship passengers – forms the stadium-sized hub of this island group and, with
around two thousand inhabitants, is one of the comarca’s busiest communities.
Motorized dugouts are constantly coming and going, so it’s a good place to sort out
onward transport, but it’s not a desirable place to spend the night. 7
The centre comprises a few large, functional cement buildings, including a secondary
school, medical centre, library and post office, standing amid a maze of cane and
thatch. There are a couple of restaurants, and numerous stalls selling soft drinks and
snacks. The large number of people passing through and the increasing proliferation
of consumer goods has resulted in rubbish piling up in the streets and at the water’s
edge, and the place should be avoided at all costs when a cruise ship has dropped
anchor, as Guna women selling molas appear from every doorway and the population
almost doubles.

Museo de Cultura y Arte Guna
Centre of the island • Daily 8am–4pm • $3 • T669 1390
The main reason to visit Gardi Sugdub is to spend time at the Museo de Cultura y
Arte Guna. Stuffed full of artefacts, with pictures from floor to ceiling, it covers many
aspects of Guna culture – mola making, funerary rites, traditional medicine, religious
beliefs – with some bilingual signage in Spanish and English. The place really comes
alive through the informative explanations of the curator, José Davies, who is happiest
conducting tours in Spanish but can manage some English.
Nurdub
Very close to the coast, four families occupy the tiny outcrop of Nurdub, welcoming
visitors to their simple cabañas (see below). Provided your Spanish is up to the task,
this intimate environment is ideal for deepening your understanding of Guna culture.
Although there’s no beach, daily trips are arranged to beaches.
aRRIVal anD DEPaRTuRE THE GaRDI ISlanDS anD aROunD
By boat For independent travellers, there is always dock (10–20min).
transport waiting to transfer passengers to Cartí from the
aCCOMMODaTIOn
★ Cabañas Nurdub Nurdub T6803 7033 (Elixto deserted Piderdub, where you can also choose to camp as
Tejada). Six immaculate cane cabañas. Day-trips are part of your stay. Lodgings, meals and one daily beach
offered to Isla Perro Chico (see p.258) and to the beautiful, excursion plus transfer from Cartí are included. $120

Cayos Limones
Offering perfect tranquillity (provided you don’t coincide with a cruise-ship stopover),
the gorgeous islands that comprise CAYOS LIMONES are clustered east and northeast of
El Porvenir. Once dedicated to harvesting coconuts, they now function mainly as

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