After the eventful finish of the first leg, we motored slowly south for 60 miles to the San Blas Islands off the Panamanian coast. These are a stunning set of tiny low-lying islands surrounded by massive reefs and they aren’t well charted so we had to wait until dawn to enter.

On arrival we chose to go to Coco Bandera, a small group of three islands occupied by a couple of families and little else. It was a great place to decompress for a couple of days after the crossing. After we’d anchored we had a visitor in a dugout canoe who welcomed us and politely explained that this was Guna Yala and definitely not Panama. They are very proud of their identity and after we were offered the Guna Yala flag ($10) we dropped our Panama courtesy flag and hoisted the “correct” one in it’s place.

Shortly after we arrived Ægle, Nola and Cashew also followed us into the anchorage. We had to sort a halliard wrap (a spinny halliard round the genoa during the dash to avoid the lightning at the finish) so Adrian drew the short straw (again) to head up the mast to sort it before we went swimming. There was a rather large Nurse shark around the boat but it wasn’t seen when we were in the water! In the afternoon all the crews met ashore for an impromptu sundowner drinks party. The first of many I suspect.

After two nights we motored the 5 miles to the next island group at Banderup (also known as the Swimming Pool) where many more yachts from our fleet had gathered. This is a little more developed with one bar and a fantastic little restaurant.

We’ve had two nights here with much carousing on the beach each evening as everyone is getting to know each other better. We are all reliving the stories of our Caribbean crossings. In our case this also involved running into the USS Gerald R. Ford and its destroyer escort last Wednesday just before the seizure of the latest tanker only a few miles away!

The locals in Guna Yala are really living a subsistence existence but are super friendly. Some make a living by selling Molas, hand-made textiles that form part of the traditional women’s clothing of the indigenous Guna people. We had a visit from a whole family, parents with their 5 small children in a small boat. Anne-Laure selected one as a souvenir with lots of assistance from the cheeky but cute kids!

Yesterday afternoon we had a leisurely lunch in Ibin’s restaurant which he has built out over the water in the last 5 years. We’re staying here again for one more night before heading on to Lemon Cays before heading round to Shelter Bay Marina on the Panama mainland later next week.

Ibin’s restaurant, Banderup