Suzanne and I were the only Americans on board, along with 5 other passengers, one of whom sat next to the pilot in the "co-pilot's" seat. (We both actually thought the guy WAS the co-pilot for much of the flight!) Almost an hour after take off, we started spiraling down, and landed on a small grassy strip on the ocean's edge barely large enough for the plane. There was a small open hut that looked like a rain shelter from the bus stops back home. It served as the "terminal" for the Uaguitupo (Uaguitupu) Airport. Among those meeting the plane were two young men from Dolphin Lodge who had no problem finding us--we stuck out in the crowd. We were two fair-skinned, middle-aged American women, one five foot eight and the other five feet tall. We didn't exactly blend in with the dark-skinned Cuna (Kuna) Indian men who must have peaked out at about five feet or less!
They signaled for us to climb into a dugout canoe. We could see small islands dotting the shoreline. We rode out to a small island scattered with thatched-roof huts. The owners and their extended family greeted us warmly. The owner spoke English fairly well, and one of his sons was also somewhat fluent in English. They showed us to our hut and spent about 5 minutes touring the small island. We were the only guests for the weekend. After checking out all the facilities, we lounged in hammocks strung between coconut trees and read our books. It was a lazy way to spend the morning. We were fortunate that the weather was cloudy. Otherwise, it would have been sweltering! No electricity was to be found on Dolphin Island, much less air conditioning! We went via canoe to the larger neighboring island called Achutupu (Dog Island) and walked around. This island was much more populated and had a school and a large meeting house. Our host gave us quite a guided tour, and we learned much about the Cuna and their culture. Suzanne and I were saddened to see many small babies with blue-dyed skin. Our host explained that because of much intermarriage among the Cunas, recessive traits like albinism were common. To protect those with no skin pigmentation, a blue dye was applied to the skin. Although we could appreciate the reasons the Cuna wanted to protect their simple way of life from outsiders, we cringed at the thought of their living in such a tropical location without any natural sun protection.
As we walked around Dog Island, Suzanne and I couldn't help but feel somewhat like members of the Peace Corps. Small children swarmed around us as we walked around the island. We visited some of the huts and marveled that all cooking was still done over an open fire in a smoky hut dedicated to cooking. At the suggestion of our host, we purchased some molas made by some of the children. The young girls start very early making the beautiful embroidery. We couldn't help but marvel that this civilization was only an hour by air from the metropolis of Panama City, yet still looked much like it must have for the last several hundred years.
After lunch we lounged some more in the addictive hammocks and watched the family work on expanding their group of huts. They were planning for more visitors! The Cuna have such a simple life of farming, fishing, and sewing. We had brought snorkeling gear, so set off in one of the gas-motor powered canoes for a prime snorkeling spot with the son and his small boy. The three of us adults snorkeled off an island where the coral was untouched and among the best I've ever seen. The little boy waited for us in the canoe for the hour while we were snorkeling. When we returned from snorkeling, his father gave the small boy a sign and the boy was in the water in a second! We could only marvel how well behaved the child was--waiting patiently for permission to swim.
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