East Holandes Cays

Well another day here on the Holandes Cays in San Blas. The weather has been very pleasant with fair winds out of the North. As we are all in the lee of the islands the water is flat and still. The fishing could be better but, then again, one cannot be too greedy. Lots of smaller fish and barracudas that steal ones lures... they have razor sharp teeth. The colours of the water at the different depths are absolutely stunning, but you will need to wait till we get to the internet to download the pictures. We have had many Kuna come by with crayfish, monster crabs and all assortments of groceries. We bought a fresh chicken and roasted it (our first roast in our oven) and it turned out great... very tasty. Sandy made up for the chicken with crayfish that we bought from one of the passing canoes. The canoes that the Kuna's use are dugout canoes made from one hollowed out tree trunk. Today one came by with a small 9HP outboard on the back. He offered us some crab and crayfish and then asked if we could sell him some fuel. Out here he would be miles from any location where he could buy some. We spared two gallons around 8litres. Then he asked if we had oil. We don't carry two stroke oil, but he was happy to use some 15W40 oil and get on his way. I asked him how long it would take to make a dugout canoe and he reckons that from the chopping down of the tree to finish take around a week. The tree is felled and shaped up in the rain forest and then taken to the village where the final trimming up is done. His canoe is fifteen years old and still has many years of life left in it. They do take in water and often you can see them bailing as they go along. They normally have one large paddle that can also be used to steer the boat when they use their sails. They cover large distance and will go along the coast to Colon (70-80nm) or down to Columbia in these open canoes. You see them everywhere around the Cays with the Kuna's fishing, diving, transporting goods and people. Well the sun is high we have made our water and charged our batteries so there is only one thing left to do ...go snorkelling. Yesterday we had Ian and Wendy on board from the yacht Remedy that crossed the Atlantic with us. They arrived a few days ago from Cuba after an eight day passage. This morning we heard Barnstorm (also from the Atlantic crossing) calling them and they had just arrived from Honduras after a four day Passage. We are very close to each other, but behind different islands. Later today we will dinghy around for a chat. So off to snorkel we go... till next time, bye for now

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