We woke up Sunday morning early. Really early. We were scheduled to meet our shuttle at a local hotel at 5:30 a.m. and it was 30 minutes away. We arrived in plenty of time and eventually connected with our ride in a parking lot full of folks preparing for a marathon.
We were the first two in the Land Rover so we headed out to the next two locations to pick up two more couples. Couples that we would eventually connect with and spend a great couple of days getting to know each other.
Following a harrowing two hour ride, half of which was speeding down a windy and twisty road, we arrived at our destination. It was a dirt lot on the bank of a river. Drivers kept arriving and dropping off tourists, most of which were green with motion sickness and moving slowly while clutching their bellies. It was a windy and twisty road.
This images shows a crew of surfers making their way to the water taxis lined up along the river bank. You can see one heading out in the right side of the image.
Some boats had one motor, some two. All were open air and most had a canopy overhead. Ours also had a plastic sheet that fell could be lowered down the sides as shown in the image above. That proved handy the morning we left as the splash worked perfectly with the wind and would have soaked us had our boatmen not lowered the protective sheeting.
There were also plenty of locals paddling in and out of the port in their cayucos, canoes dug out of the local Cayuco tree. Some of these boats actually had sails that could be hoisted to assist in crossing the ocean between islands.
It looks like this father and son team is heading in to fill water jugs.
Here is a water taxi approaching the mouth of the river. It is coming in from the islands.
We stopped at a neighboring island on our way to Naranjo Chico to pick up some plantains. This boat taxi was moored out away from the dock. It reminds me of a cowboy tying up his horse.
While waiting for the plantains I noticed some wee ones playing “out in the yard”? It looks like a one “car” family (the cayuco on the dock).
We arrived and got off the boat. This is an image of our “resort”. The hut to the left is for guests, the red roofed one is the dining room/kitchen, the two to the right are guest huts. Ours is the left one on the right.
We stayed here three nights. It was pretty cool having waves lap under our hut each night. Ellen is standing in the doorway of our front porch. Behind her is another door that leads to our humble abode. It was a single room with two beds AND a separate bathroom. Seriously, indoor plumbing. The walls let the breeze in between the sticks, it was heaven.
This is a view looking toward our resort. Look at the color of that water. Wow.
How iconic is THIS shot? Some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever done was right outside our front door. Hammocks were everywhere. I think they sleep in them. They, meaning the Guna People, live on the islands. There are around 365 islands in all but only 40 are inhabited.
This is the dock on the other side of the island. It took three minutes to cross the center of the island and get there. This side of the island is all grass and sand so it was great having the rocks and coral just outside of our hut for snorkeling.
This is the view down the beach behind our hut. Those palm trees in the distance are the far end of the island.
This is our resort’s dog. Dang, I forgot his name. Ruby? Maybe? He was sweet. We’d run into him all over the island. Here he is leaning up against the opening to the dining room. A couple of times we found him snoozing on our front porch.
Here’s the local school bus. A couple days a week this boat would load up with kids and they’d be ferried to a nearby island to attend school.
This was our personal taxi for the three days we were there.
Our resort was all inclusive. It included three meals a day and an afternoon excursion. Sunday’s excursion was to go to a nearby island and get a tour. It was very interesting. Here is a modern house as we pulled up to the dock. There were also huts.
Here’s another view, in a different direction, of less modern accommodations.
We were laughing as I was shooting at how my images would portray a ghost island as we were asked not to photograph any of the locals unless we compensate each of them. There were SO many, everywhere, that I chose to shoot in other directions. I think this is main street and it looks deserted.
Coconuts are an important commodity on the islands. On our own island we were asked not to pick any up and eat them but to purchase them from a native.
Clothes were hanging everywhere, all the time. I wondered if they just stored them on the line due to humidity instead of in a drawer where they would…mold?
This is one of the classrooms.
Our friend Claudia bought a bracelet from this lady. The other rule is, if you purchase something, you can photograph the artist.
We bought a mola from this beautiful lady, the mother of our island guide. Once I asked if I could take her picture she grabbed her grandbaby and wanted images of the two of them. It was really sweet.
Walking down the dock to leave I grabbed this shot of their transportation collection. I love boats.
Also, realize that the stories you read here are just the tip of the iceberg. So many wonderful things happened on these islands that I’d need to write a book to share them all. Wait! A BOOK?!? Hmmm…
This was just the first DAY! We arrived on Naranjo Chico around 10 a.m. Sunday. We still had TWO MORE WHOLE DAYS of living in a hut, snorkeling and eating fish from sea. I love my life.
Next week I’ll share what we did on the second day as each was subtly different. Thanks for reading!!