The Times They are A-Changin'

Written 29-4-08

Fun Fact: Until 1996, the main form of currency for the Kuna tribe of the San Blas Islands was the coconut.

The San Blas Islands are a group of some 400 islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, about half of them inhabited by the Kuna tribe, the other half not inhabited at all. On most islands there is no electricity or plumbing, as I'm assuming it's difficult to get the wiring and pipes working when your house is made out of bamboo. So basically paradise. The women are adorned, bejeweled to the max, their whole forearms and legs covered with strings of beads, their bodies in batik sarongs, and red head scarves. It's easier if you just look at the pictures I have attached, because it would be otherwise impossible to describe their beauty enough to give them credit.

I, being the only white and non-Kuna person on the island, was kind of initiated into their tribe, and now have beads wrapped down my arm and no idea how to take them off, since it was sewn on. I wasn't planning to anyway.

However, that was last week's news. The most recent would be to tell you that I'm no longer backpacking. I set out to see Central America, and I have seen all seven countries, plus Mexico. A few days ago I took a flight from Panama City to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and I have to tell you, it was HORRIBLE. People were walking way too fast, talking way too loud, and being way too rude to their fellow traveler at his crazy airport. This was the first time I've been back in America in almost five months, and all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die after talking to these crazy old ladies with thick New York accents and freakish tans. After waiting hours in the airport where time aparently stands still, I boarded another flight for Puerto Rico. The plane was running an hour late, and due to mean-spirited....no, evil people working behind the desk in the San Juan airport, I missed my third flight of the day. I spent, quite literally, a small fortune on a hotel room at the airport because I wasn't allowed to sleep on the floor, and the next day I finally caught a flight to my final destination, St Lucia.

For those who may not know, my transient, hippie father and stepmother live on a sailboat in the Caribbean, so I'm here to hang out and help crew the boat through the islands for a while. It's interesting to actually have a place to put my stuff, and I've spent the last couple days moving in and getting used to boat life.

St. Lucia is an interesting island. Yesterday, "Hey Rasta gal!" was yelled at me from across streets and waterways nineteen times. You have to have a license to have a pet boa constrictor. Nobody and nothing works on Sundays, including the stoplights. Everyone drives on the left side of the street, the Happy Hour drinks are really strong, the mango supply is endless, and the sun is shining. I wasn't expecting it to be so expensive here, but then I don't have that many expenses, which is quite nice.

The plan: Who knows. But you'll know when I figure it out.


"I guess my feet know where they want me to go,
Walkin' on a country road."
-James Taylor