6 January 2008

6 January 2008
Hi to all as we sail around the northern tip of Cuba,
As previously announced, we stopped at San Blas for a few hours. I felt like I’d been asleep at the switch somewhere along the way when I read in the ship’s daily bulletin that San Blas’s real name is Kuna Yala in the country of Comarca. Apparently this little country gained its independence in 1925 and the country of Comarca was formed. The mainland of Comarca is a thin stretch of land nestled up against Columbia along the Atlantic Coast. Comarca is the home of the Kuna Indians. Mmost of the Kuna Indian population lives on the mainland. Around forty of the country’s 360 distinct islands are inhabited by the Kuna Indians. Kuna Yala (San Blas) was the island that we visited.
About twenty years ago I visited this same island. With the exception of a cell phone that I spotted being used by one of the male natives wearing a tee shirt, nothing else seems changed. Diminutive ladies sat outside their huts on stools or their haunches hawking their brightly colored mulas to visitors from our ship. The oldest of the women all seemed to have pipes clutched between their teeth but I didn’t see any smoke involved. There seemed to be more little kids running around then I remembered. The walls of huts lining the narrow dirt streets between the huts all displayed mulas of every conceivable design. If there was any thing new among the mulas, it was probably the tee shirts with mulas that I didn’t remember from my earlier visit.
The little ladies and the children all held their hands out whenever a camera was pointed in their direction. Only the truly crass among my fellow passengers took pictures of people without leaving a dollar behind for the privilege. I found a tee shirt I liked and bought it. Unfortunately, the mula makers have decided that only men wear mula tee shirts so none of the females on my gift list will receive a mula tee shirt.
Okay, so I’ve used the word “mula” several times now. The colorful and intricately sewn mulas are an important part of the traditional dress of the kuna women. Mulas are made from store bought fabrics consisting of multiple layers of reverse applique. If you know what an applique is you probably will have little difficulty with reverse applique. If applique is foreign to your vocabulary, you’re in trouble. Molas were originally used as blouses. Now they serve as tablecloths, mitts, wall directions, and, of course, tourist souvenirs. By observation, the latter item seems to be the main direction of this highly productive cottage (make that hut) industry.
My pictures depict the most native of scenes with huts made with palm branch roofs and bamboo walls. Indeed, the people we saw at Kuna Yala (San Blas) actually live this way. However, in recent years small air strips have been built on some of the major islands and contact with the mainland cities such as Panama City has expanded the world for the Kuna Indians. We were told not to be surprised if we saw youth wearing sneakers, baseball caps, shorts and tee shirts. Civilization has expanded to Comarca. Kuna Sala even has a palm thatched bamboo walled bar called the Kuna Yala Hard Rock Café!
An overnight sail took us next to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Puerto Limon is Costa Rica’s major Caribbean sea port. Unlike the rest of Costa Rica, Puerto Limon’s population of 60,000 includes a sizeable representation of descendants of Jamaican and Chinese immigrants. Spanish is the official language in Costa Rica but many people speak English and French as well. The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica consists of thick tropical jungles and sprawling banana plantations. Heavy rainfall is the expected weather.
Costa Rica gained its independence in 1821 along with most of the other Central American countries. It has had a peaceful democratic history except for a a brief period in 1948 when the constitution was abolished and a military dictatorship took over. A year later a new constitution was adopted and the army was permanently abolished.
Costa Rica was first sighted by Christopher Columbus who gave it its name meaning “Rich Coast” in 1502. Colonization was relatively bloodless compared to other Central American countries. The area was mainly inhabited by Indian farmer who eventually died out when introduced to European diseases. The first capital city Cartago was established in 1563. Eventually the capital was moved to San Jose in 1737 were it remains today.
After independence in 1821, the government sought goods that could be exported and taxed for revenue. It was decided that Coffee was such a product. The government offered free land to coffee growers thus building a land owning class. The prosperity brought by coffee exportation since the 1850’s resulted in the expansion of all of Costa Rica.
As soon as we were cleared by customs, I decided to take a walk on shore to explore the little town of Puerto Limon. The town is directly adjacent to the port so that within a few blocks I was in the center of town. Puerto Limon is a small storybook town that one would expect to find in the middle of the coastal jungles of Costa Rica. There are no multi storied office buildings to signify advanced civilization; piles of garbage at street corners on Sunday awaited the Monday morning garbage truck; weekend lounging by men of all ages looked absolutely correct and little traffic marred the peacefulness of the morning. The bell in the town church tolled periodically to nudge residents to come to worship with few paying much attention. Shops were opening slowly at ten in the morning making it obvious that the owners weren’t anxious to rush the day.
My day became special when a thirteen year old boy named Jose started walking along side of me. He stammered trying to use a few English words that he had learned in school. He may have been encouraged by his teacher to talk to the tourists to practice English. A few minutes later, Ricardo, 14, and Stephano , 15, joined us. For the next hour the threesome followed my wanderings chatting with me about whatever came to mind. If they got into something I didn’t understand I would offer my “no comprende” and they would change the subject. When we passed an ice cream shop the boys looked longingly through the window with noses pressed against the glass. I opened the door and invited them in. We each selected our favorite flavors and ordered four cupas de helado. The boys had been trained well at home because each offered a gracious and somewhat flowery thank you when we left the shop. I don’t know why I got such a kick out of the hour we spent together but I did. I guess that once a teacher - always a teacher. When the boys left they thanked me again calling me El Ayudero de Santa Claus( Santa‘s Hel;er). I guess they don’t see many white beards.
When we leave Puerto Limon this afternoon, the Pacific Princess will make a bee line to Fort Lauderdale where we will end our 26 day cruise. Between now and then, I will have three one hour bridge lectures each morning and a two hour duplicate game to manage each afternoon. My cruising schedule will not begin again until June 20; six mnths that I’m really looking forward to before I’m back in the cruising business again. Tell me again………this was a good idea wasn’t it?
This will be my last BLOG for this trip. I’ve enjoyed sharing my travels with you all,
My love to each and every one,
Grandpa Bill, Dad and Barnacle Bill