Finding ourselves in San Blas Islands

After a terrible sleep due to the heat, noise and light in our room, we drug ourselves out of bed at 5am to catch our 2 hour jeep ride to the San Blas Islands. The last half hour on the bumpy, windy road brought on the feeling of motion sickness once again. When we finally arrived at the "port", a 5 foot tall local Kuna man loaded us into his little, rickety boat with a small motor and we began our journey to one of the 378 islands that comprise the San Blas Archipelago. As we made our way into the Carribean sea, passing little Islands with palm trees and small wooden homes along the way, the terrible sleep and jeep ride became distant memories. After about 30 minutes we arrived at Robinson Island, our home for the next three nights. Our hut was the closest to the ocean, in fact you could see it through our stick walls. Our foam mattress in the middle of the hut was too big for the frame and therefore it was shaped like a banana, which would come in handy as when we asked for our sheets we were informed that they didn't have any pillows. As we made our bed and dropped our limited gear on the sandy floor of our hut, we both looked at each other simultaneously. The reason being that we had both noticed the overwhelming odor of urine. After some investgating we determined it was from the dogs outside our hut which was a relief, although still very undesirable. The smell did dissipate at night, so we tried to avoid our hut during the daytime. 

Right away we found our French friends from the night bus and quickly began to enjoy our new surroundings with them. The water was perfect! Clear, blue and offering a cool alternative to the hot sun. The last day however, we could not go in the water as a few times per week, the Kuna people emptied their garbage into the ocean and the sight of dirty diapers floating around wasn't too appealing. We were served 3 basic meals a day, consisting of rice and fish or crab which were adequate but uninspired. With no outside technology and virtually nothing to do but play in the water or read a book, Travis and I found ourselves in many deep conversations. We reflected on our last year, our heartaches and challenges, the loss of Travis' dad and how that has greatly affected him and therefore impacted us. We discussed our trip so far, how parts of it have just felt like a good holiday without depth or growth. As a result of our very deep, very real, uninterrupted conversations, we gained a new focus, set some goals and grounded ourselves in our purpose. This trip wasn't just about adventure but more so about us, growing as a couple and as individuals, establishing habits and building traits now for when we return home. 

While at San Blas we took two snorkelling trips to two different islands. One to a ship wreck where Travis, my hero, had to rescued me, literally. I knew the current looked strong but having never faced a open water current before and being confident in my swimming abilities, I underestimated its power. Floating along I enjoyed the view of the sunken ship and all of the pretty fish everywhere. As I snorkelled along to the back of the ship I failed to notice that Travis decided to stay back after assessing that the current was too strong for his swimming ability. When I finally popped my head out of the water to see where I was, the feelings of shock and panic were immediate. I was much farther out than I thought and was alone. Quickly I tried to swim against the current, at first I made headway, then suddently realized I was very tired and not moving. Scared, I cried out for Travis and in what seemed like an instant, he was by my side. At first he tried to pull me against the current but it was too strong, he then instructed me to swim over the ship to the other side, thankfully the current was much weaker over there. Once on the other side of the ship, I was exhausted and so I rolled onto my back and Travis grabbed my legs and pushed me towards land. After this ordeal I was fearful of snorkelling, but Travis insisted and I remembered that when I used to ride horses, if you get bucked off you need to get right back on. So after resting and formulating a plan we headed back out, this time staying on the low current side of the ship together. The next day we snorkelled around a small island, with no current and lots of starfish to admire. We both have a new respect for open water and the danger is poses, but because we pushed ourselves to 'get back in the saddle', we are still able to enjoy the beauty of the water. 

Of course, any post would be lacking if I failed to mention the interesting people we met. Our time at Robinson island was no different as we enjoyed meeting other travellers staying there as well, including a couple of fantastic girls with similar personalities to Travis. Their stories and joking made meal times extra enjoyable. However, after being covered in sand for 3 days it was time to return to the mainland, with a new focus and respect for the ocean.