The San Blas Islands of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

is an archipelago comprising approximately 365 islands and

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Grea ...

s, of which 49 are inhabited. They lie off the north coast of the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

, east of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. A part of the ''comarca'' (district)

Guna Yala Guna Yala, also known as Kuna Yala or by its former name San Blas, is a ''Comarca#Panama, comarca indígena'' (indigenous province) in northeast Panama. Guna Yala is home to the indigenous people known as the Guna people, Gunas. Its capital ...

along the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

coast of Panama, it is home to the Kuna people. San Blas and its surrounding area is a haven for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

because of its pristine environs. The area is also popular for

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

, as it is known for its beauty and lack of

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

s. Notable locations in the Archipelago are the main capital Gaigirgordub, the densely crowded island village of Carti Sugtupu, and the two keys, Cayos Limones, and Cayos Holandeses, both renowned for their clear waters. The islands could be rendered uninhabitable by

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

in the late 21st century. The government of Panama predicted that several islands in the archipelago could be completely submerged by 2050, causing significant displacement requiring plans to move the indigenous residents to the mainland. The island of Carti Sugtupu is currently in the process of having its residents relocated due to frequent floods and rising sea levels, making the community the first in Panama to be displaced by climate change.

Tradition and legacy

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Guna wore few clothes and decorated their bodies with colorful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they copied these designs in their molas, which they wore as clothing. Famille Guna San Blas

The Guna worship a god named Erragon, who they believe came and died just for the Guna people. Driven off Panama during the Spanish invasion, the Guna fled to the surrounding 378 islands. Today their chief lives on an island called Acuadup, which means "rock island". Many Guna are hunters and fishermen. Many families live close to the mainland in villages and the families will rotate their time living on the islands. On some of the islands, children can attend school. Most of the men now speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, although the women carry on older traditions. From 1679 to 1681, William Dampier started and ended his first journey with privateers and pirates in these islands which he called "The Samballoes," a rendezvous-place for pirates, convenient for hiding and privacy.

Climate

The San Blas Islands have a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

. Temperatures are hot all year round. There is a lengthy wet season from May to January and a short dry season in the rest of the year.

References

External links

*
Frommer's Travel Guide: Comarca Kuna Yala

{{Authority control Caribbean islands of Panama

Tradition and legacy

Climate

See also

Further reading

References

External links