Puerto Obaldia, Armila, Anachucuna, Caledonia and San Blas islands
Puerto Obaldia, Armila and Anachucuna
Puerto Obaldia is a small village about 30min away on a small boat from Capurgana (there is a regular line for 35000 pesos). The only thing to do there is fill your paperwork for immigration, or take a flight at the airport to Panama City for just 100euros. This is a good option for those flying back home from Panama City and who just want to go to the first islands of San Blas de Caledonia (1h30 from Puerto Obaldia, all the islands look the same) and come back afterwards and thus avoid to spend too much time on boats, or because they don’t have enough time to do the 4 days boat trip to Carti followed by 4hrs of driving to Panama City. Moreover, it is cheaper to do it that way, and certainly more pleasant because it is a lot less time spent on boats and it avoids the 4WD trip between Carti and Panama City, which is quite rough too.
4kms north of Puerto Obaldia is the small village of Armila, the 1st Indian community from Gunayala de Panama (same people found on the islands San Blas) who share the place with African-descendants. You can get there on foot in 1h30 along the beach, or it takes 20min on a small boat from Puerto Obaldia (there no pontoon in Armila, so during summer, between December and April, it is impossible to access it by boat, you would then have to walk). The village consists of small colourful houses made out of cana brava or can flecha, and covered by roofs made out of irica palms. In May, Turtle Fest takes place in Armila, because like is Playona, leatherback turtles (here called Tortugas cana) and green turtles (here called Tortugas carey) come to lay their eggs from beginning of February to end of June at night. During the Fest (and a bit before and after), you can see the baby turtles hatch and find their way to the sea, as well as adult females still coming to lay their eggs. That’s why it is practical to choose the month of May to celebrate Turtles; also in the Guna calendar, May is the month of turtles. There are also 2 rivers in Armila, Baidy and Nakur, coming from the jungle and allowing you to go for a swim in fresh water, not only salt water from the sea. We can also go on to the pretty beach of Anachucuna, a bit further north of Armila, 40min boat trip.
Caledonia and San Blas islands
The archipelago of San Blas in Panama, also called archipelago of Mulatas, is a set of 365 small islands, out of which only 80 are inhabited. This is the territory of the Indians Guna Yala, as well as the whole coast opposite the islands. Those people are fishermen and hunters, they tend to live in harmony with nature in a healthy way (there are exceptions). Also they are generally educated as they have schools. All the men can speak Spanish. Women are more protective of their traditions (weaving, crafts with pearls…). They believe in one God called Ibe Orgun.
The archipelago became one of the most exuberant destinations for tourists in Panama, especially because of its superb white beaches, its crystalline waters rich in biodiversity, and the Indian Guna people living there. Without anything like it around, those islands are so much more beautiful than San Andres, Providencia, the islands of San Bernardo (next to Rincon del Mar) and the islands of Rosaire next to Cartagena. Because access is still complex and comfort is not a priority, this destination remains “off the beaten track…”. Even if there are more and more people visiting them every year, especially international tourists.
From Colombia, there are 2 ways to get to the San Blas: – return trip from Capurgana, going only to the first islands; especially Caledonia, which is the 1st island about 1h30 away by boat from Puerto Obaldia, where you will have to stop anyway to fill in immigration paperwork. Compulsory, 30min away from Capurgana! You can choose to spend only 1 night in Caledonia, but considering the paperwork you had to fill in, the cost of travelling by boat, and the time spent…we advise you to spend 2 nights there. It is well worth it anyway! – go from Capurgana to Carti, then Panama City via the islands. It can be done in 4 days and 3 nights on the islands. It is a lot of time spent on boats (8/9hr in total and it can be really agitated in dry season between December and April; + 4hrs of uncomfortable 4WD from Carti to Panama City). But it allows you to enjoy the whole archipelago, and fly back to your country directly from Panama City, without having to come back to Medellin. Most of the time flights are cheaper from Panama City than from Medellin…, so it is the best option for those who don’t mind taking off from a different city than the one where they landed.