We have been back in Kuna Yala for about two months now and have seen the weather shift from summer calms to winter trades winds out of the NE. Whether the weather is calm or blustery, the scenery is still captivating.
A typical Kuna homestead is a thatch roof hut on the sand, personalized with a creative touch.
Piles of coconuts and husks are omnipresent for trade and as a dietary staple con arroz.
This is the same style of home built in the more crowded villages intermixed with occasional concrete buildings with tin roofs.
Skilled Kuna waterman, starting at a very early age, make way in their ulus whatever the weather.
Fisherman come out at the start of each day and fish using a mix of hand-lines, spears or nets.
Good light is needed to avoid reefs just below the surface so a lookout is important.
There are also notably more outboard engines on ulus these days.
No one should be complacent about the challenges of navigation in this archipelago where mother nature or trouble will present itself! Each year in Kuna Yala, there are a few boats that are lost on a reef and it is a heartbreaking sight.
Also each year as we know well, boats get struck by lightning here. We recently watched helplessly during a particularly nasty storm, holding our ears to the air crackling around us and sound waves booming into our chests. Unfortunately, several friends’ boats sustained electrical damage during the latest lightning storm and it was the first time we witnessed a VHF antenna go up in a puff of brown smoke!
Despite a bit of trauma, everyone has a good attitude and realistic outlook about the lightning situation. We are all here by choice and know what could happen, so as long as we stay safe we accept the price to be paid to live in paradise.
