Panama City and the San Blas Islands
9 days in Panama City and Panama’s pristine San Blas Island archipelago
Introduction & Overview
Over the holidays this year, I broke from my typical downtime in the San Francisco Bay Area to join friends (Austin, Omri, Danielle and Jordan) on a sailing trip in the San Blas Islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama. The extent of sailing I have done is on Lake Tahoe with my friend Sam and on a few select birthday occasions, but nothing extensive. Sea-sickness and a general lack of know how compared to my other hobbies and interests has kept me away from the activity more broadly. However, this island adventure seemed too good to pass up, and I am certainly pleased I chose to embark on it.
The San Blas Islands are a notable archipelago of ~365 islands on the Caribbean coast of Panama and home to the Kuna, or Guna Yala, people, an indigenous community native to Panama. The islands are largely uninhabited and pristine, typically covered by coconut trees or mangroves. The low lying islands are notably at risk of disappearing due to climate change. Carti Sugtupu, a notable inhabited island in the San Blas, is in the process of being evacuated due to sea level rise. This is one of the first instances of such a relocation globally. The island chain is popular and well known for its weather, sailing, coral reefs, fishing and cruising between Panama and Cartagena, Colombia. Wikipedia has you covered on further details. All that matters is that my pitch for us to go to Oaxaca lost and I’m okay with that.
In addition to our time in the San Blas, we spent a total of 3 days in Panama City, Panama’s capital city. We didn’t know much about Panama City and had little in the way of expectations, but ultimately found it to be clean, safe, easy to navigate and not as overwhelming as other Central and South American cities I have visited.
Day 1 — December 26th, 2024
The day after Christmas, Danielle and I departed from San Francisco, connecting through Austin, TX. Flights to Panama City are quite affordable normally, and I look forward to repurchasing at normal prices in the future as these were a tough pill to swallow.
Panama City struck me initially as having been heavily influenced by Americanism. The airport, very modern, had just about every American restaurant you could imagine, including an Olive Garden, a very upscale Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken and a Guy Fieri restaurant. In the City itself, many of the billboards and restaurants advertised common American chains & companies.
We rented a car and found driving from the airport and to the hotel and back to be very easy and safe. Taking the car to other destinations and day trips in the area was also relatively painless, though there were a few more dicey moments when we ventured into more heavily trafficked parts of the city. Overall renting a car posed no significant issues.
We stayed at the Marriott in downtown Panama City which served as a great hub for some traditional city fair of eating and drinking. On the first night we had dinner at Beirut, a really fun mediterranean restaurant with an exuberant synth player / DJ and to our surprise some pretty intense belly dancers (not shown).
Day 2 — December 27th, 2024
We utilized the excellent top floor gym and pool at Marriott before setting off for a full day exploring Panama City. For breakfast, we hit Mentiritas Blancas (“Little White Lies”), which featured a ton of healthy and delicious breakfast options, in addition to a large selection of award-winning geisha coffees.
From there we hiked Parque Metropolitano, a rainforest connected to the city. Parque Metropolitano features a few miles of hiking trails and some really nice views of the city. We weren’t lucky enough to view some of the more elusive creatures alleged to live in the park (sloths and monkeys) but we were lucky enough to see several very colorful birds, insects (orb weaver, leaf-cutter ants, millipedes, butterflies), several noisy agoutis (a cute blend of mouse and cabybara) and a delightful family of hungry coatis. This was definitely a highlight for me in Panama City — it’s so cool to have so much biodiversity intertwined with a major metropolitan city and something I am envious of, though San Francisco of course has its fair share of cool species that I surely take for granted. I would highly recommend a day trip to Parque Metropolitano for visitors, especially if you can go early and potentially see more wildlife.
We spent the remainder of the day in Casco Viejo, the old but refurbished part of town. This area is reminiscent of many Latin American cities that have a historic district, prominent with Spanish architecture and stores / restaurants geared toward tourists. We grabbed coffees and beers (when in Rome!) and an early dinner / late lunch at Lo Que Hay, an amazing restaurant Jordan picked out. After recharging at the hotel we had drinks and grooved at Mangle, which we ignorantly thought was pronounced as such. It is pronounced “mahn-gley” and is the Spanish word for mangrove — duh. The bar had delicious drinks, groovy music and pretty good food as well.
Day 3 — December 28th, 2024
Shaking off the drinks from the night before, we checked out Annie & Mott’s Eating House for breakfast. Admittedly, this place is just built for tourists, but we are tourists and places like this have a time and a place. The food was tasty and they had some healthy options which weren’t always abundantly available in Panama City. After breakfast we hopped in the rental and drove toward the area surrounding the Panama Canal for some hiking and of course, canal-ing.
We elected to walk along El Camino del Oleoducto (pipeline road), one of the popular walks in the area. Another we considered was the Camino del Plantacion, which I probably would have done in hindsight as it seems more like a “real” hike. El Camino Oleoducto is a semi-walking semi-driving dirt road in the rainforest, well known as a bird watching hotspot. We saw a handful of really nice birds, including male and female trogons (one badly photographed below). That being said, actual wildlife viewing was pretty sparse, though it’s a very nice walk through the rainforest. We walked maybe 1–1.5 miles, very slowly, and eventually came to a turnaround point where we declared we would walk 15 more minutes before turning around and returning back to the car. Lo and behold, literally moments later, a large family of monkeys appeared in the canopy above. I am no monkey expert, but by my brief googling I believe they were the endangered black-headed spider monkey. Watching the monkeys navigate the canopy, groom each other and just chill out was a real treat. They were quite active and entertaining, and we watched them for about 10 minutes before heading back to the car before departing for the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve.
Gamboa Rainforest Reserve is a resort-like compound about 5–10 minutes from the Camino Oleoducto. It sits on a gorgeous piece of land overlooking the Chagres River, which, via two dams, is the primary water source for both Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal. We popped in for lunch at their buffet, which was met with pretty polarized reviews from our group. Regardless of the views on the value of the food (I’m more of a volume guy), the stay there was well worth the time. We sat at the balcony overlooking the Chagres and watched as several toucans weaved in the canopy below.
Our group, counting myself out amongst them, were the most jazzed to see the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal experience at Miraflores did not disappoint. Besides there being a lot of people, it boasts one of the largest IMAX theaters in the world, which was news to me. Also unbeknownst to me, we would spend the majority of our time there watching a Morgan Freeman narrated documentary, Panama Canal — A Land Divided, A World United, on the history and implications of the canal, with a sprinkle of patriotic propaganda for good measure. The film itself is quite informative, albeit a little silly, but probably a better way to see the canal and put it into context, because it’s hard to appreciate the canal’s significance in person. The actual canal viewing was fun, though somewhat underwhelming. We basically stood behind a fence and waived at the large ships as they passed. From the fenced area you can actively observe the locks in action, which rapidly lowers ships to the final lock by expending millions of gallons of water in minutes.
Day 4 — December 29th, 2024
With our two days in Panama City behind us, we embarked for the San Blas across the Panamanian isthmus. Our driver, Francisco, picked us up at the hotel at 5AM sharp to begin the two hour journey to Puerto Carti in the Gulf of Guna Yala. Francisco rocked a non-stop disco throwbacks radio station the whole way up which was much appreciated. The first leg of the trip is a pretty straight-forward drive on the highway, broken up by a brief stop at a gas station in El Llano that all tourists appear to be deposited, before a second leg winding through the rainforest and eventually down to the port. This road is fairly new and has changed much of what is possible as it pertains to access in the San Blas. The previous road, pictured below, allegedly was a 5–6 hour journey and a much more significant endeavor than what is required today. Francisco remarked that he last saw a jaguar in the area before the road was paved, but that since the road was built, such sightings are rare along the road. Hungry dogs instead play chicken with passing cars, hoping for scraps.
After 2 hours of driving, we were dropped at a very busy port full of drivers, boats and tourists. It’s a chaotic scene, but they’ve got a process that works for the remote environment. We waited in a general waiting area and tossed around a frisbee until a Kuna man called out our names and invited us to board a covered speedboat with other tourists and passengers. Some of these groups were visiting for the day, some staying in huts on the islands, and others boarding watercrafts such as ourselves.
The speedboat took us 40 minutes to our captain, Gabriel (“Gabi”) and his 2nd mate, Sandra, who was participating in her second sailing trip as a crewperson, eager to learn the ropes. Gabi is an experienced yet laid back Brazilian sailor, who grew up sailing off the coast of Sao Paolo and has been living in the San Blas on his boat for 12 years. He instantly put everyone at ease with his calm and relaxed demeanor. He has taken many tourists on adventures in the San Blas and has traveled the Caribbean extensively as a musician and sailor. We would go on to learn that beyond his seafaring accomplishments, he is an outstanding fisherman, spear-fisherman, surfer, chef, teacher and father. I would highly recommend booking with Gabi. You can check out his instagram here.
Gabi’s boat, Odara, is a 40–50 foot monohull sailboat. The boat is charming. It is not as luxurious as the catamarans, but is comfortable and full of character. Not an inch of space is wasted. My first assessment of the bedrooms was to laugh, as I had never been inside a bedroom so small, but I think this is a reflection of my American expectations and lengthy frame. Being tall has advantages in just about every part of life, but being on a small boat is not one of those places. Jordan and I claimed “pizza bed” which was aptly shaped and a little smaller than the other double room, but with more headspace to calm our collective claustrophobia. Danielle claimed the bunk room, with two beds about the size of backpacking sleeping pads. In all, 5 people was the right size for this boat. It would have been possible to add another person, but with the two crewmembers, anything beyond that would have been pretty tight.
The boat had two main group areas. The first is downstairs in the hull, next to the kitchen, which, between the table and couch area has seating for 5–10 people. The upstairs near the bow has a seating area for 5–8. The stern has informal seating for several people, and during nice weather, we spent most of our time there especially in the hammock.
Once settled, Gabi gave us a lay of the land, the rules for the boat, and walked us through the route we would take, informed by what would become my favorite book of the trip, the 5th Edition of the Panama Cruising Guide. If you are into maps and amazing aerial photography, this book is a true specimen and sets a high standard as far as local guidebooks go. Our route, illustrated below, flowed clockwise, from Nugnudub → Cayos Holandes → Coco Bandero → Green Island and back to Coco Bandero. The green line is our shuttle route from Puerto Carti to Nugnudub where our boat was initially anchored.
Near our initial anchoring, we visited a popular island, Nugnudub, which had a bar and volleyball court. We hung out here before lunch and played volleyball, which included David, Danielle, Sandra, Omri, Jordan and Jennifer, a young woman from the states currently in school at Columbia in New York.
We would return to the boat for lunch and sail 2–3 hours to “The Swimming Pool” in the Cayos Holandes. The wind was strong enough for us to actually sail, the only time that was really true during our stay on Odara, though we would typically utilize the front sail to aid the motor when possible. At the Swimming Pool we immediately kicked off the first of many snorkeling sessions where we observed colorful corals, massive sea urchins, lobsters, spider crabs, conch snails, eels, anemones and numerous colorful fish on display. Unfortunately there’s no underwater footage from this section but it was excellent!
Dinner that night was local lobster delivered by the Kunas via canoe and evening activities consisted of a few rousing rounds of Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza before collapsing to our quarters after a long first day.
Day 5 — December 30th, 2024
On our second day in the San Blas a few of us awoke to see the sunrise. I was not amongst them thanks to my handy dandy sleep mask. The rooms were warm at night but not unbearably so. We ate a fresh breakfast of huevos revueltos, pineapple and toasted rolls which would be the general breakfast staple for the trip. After breakfast we took the dinghy over to Turtle Island where Jordan, Danielle and I took on three athletic Brazilian guys in a few very competitive games of volleyball while Austin and Omri took to the reef once more for some snorkeling. We ate fresh coconuts from a stand on the beach and headed back for lunch and a sail to Coco Bandero that afternoon.
Upon returning to the boat, we purchased two spider crabs from local Kunas that we would later eat for dinner. We also had the incredible opportunity to meet Venancio Restrepo, a renowned Master Mola Maker, who approached us from his canoe. Venancio was one of the most memorable characters of the trip. Likely in his 70s or 80s, Venancio moved with great dexterity from his watercraft and into ours, handing each of us a handsome business card, and thoughtfully conversing with us. He danced easily from Spanish to English, depending on who he was speaking with. He asked great questions of ourselves, our homes and our careers. Venancio can now speak 6 languages through his dealings with tourists.
For context, Molas are handmade textiles native to Panama and the Guna Yala people. The Wikipedia page, which we would later learn explicitly mentions Venancio, is linked here for context. The patterns are intricate and colorful, Venancio’s most commonly depicting animals from the region, including fish, crustaceans, reptiles and birds. His work was incredibly intricate and his salesmanship thorough and respectful. If you have the chance to purchase a mola from Venancio in the San Blas, don’t pass it up!
After a special morning at Turtle Island we left for an intermediary snorkeling spot before cruising to Cayes Coco Bandero, and more specifically a location we would refer to as Crocodile Island — Gabi had seen crocodiles in the past near the mangroves there. It was really a special reef — quite expansive and very shallow, with some of the corals just inches below the surface. We saw our first squid, tons of colorful fish and our first blue fan coral, which we would see many more of at future locations.
For dinner, we had an appetizer of cheese and ritz crackers, an entree of the crabs with lime, and an interesting second entree of one canned tuna fish spring roll and one veggie spring roll with rice. We wrapped up the evening with some drinks and kumbaya. Fortunately, Gabi had a classical guitar on board and it went a long way in keeping me occupied during our days at sea.
Day 6— December 31st, 2024
New Year’s Eve was a day for the books. We scarfed down a quick breakfast before setting sail for Green Island, where we would team up with several other boats for a NYE sushi party on the beach. On our way to Green Island, we trolled a large fishing lure and, to our great luck, pulled in our sushi contribution. A large mackerel graced us with its presence and I was fortunate enough to get to reel it in. It was a striking and ultimately very tasty fish and a major part of our dinner that evening.
Riding the high of the mackerel, we arrived at the Green Island, which was profoundly beautiful. Crystal clear waters and an impressive reef awaited our investigation. Gabi threw the cleaned fish carcass into the sea and we waited excitedly to see if any nurse sharks would come to snack on it. In the meantime, Danielle plotted to purchase coconuts from tribe members on the island. In the San Blas, it is illegal to harvest coconuts without paying tribal members, as it has historically been their primary crop and source of income. Unfortunately there were not enough ripe coconuts to be harvested, but watching Danielle attempt the transaction was well worth the effort.
The snorkeling at Green Island, pound for pound, was definitely the best we experienced. The reef is only accessible from the water because it is so shallow up to the shoreline. We swam from the boat and quickly found ourselves face to face with colorful reefs, jellyfish, cuttlefish, squid, rainbow parrot fish and many other delights of the sea. The reef had excellent structure and depth, which made it great for long dives and deeper exploration than the other reefs we had seen to date.
After snorkeling we hiked around Green Island to get a lay of the land. Unfortunately, there was a lot of plastic pollution that washed up on shore, and it was a harsh reminder of the challenges we face globally to eliminate single use plastics from our environment, especially our oceans.
After snorkeling the party got rollin’. Several boat captains teamed up to put on a NYE sushi party of a lifetime, with each boat contributing different fish and other tasty treats. A well known Kuna sushi chef who had trained for the past 15 years in Panama City was brought in from another island to lead the charge on sushi construction, which took about two hours. We connected with many other tourists and captains from all over the world, including Brazil, Spain, Italy, Argentina and the US. Beyond the sushi, we feasted on hummus, tiramisu, guacamole + homemade bread (s.o. Sandra!), Brazilian steaks and the best G&T I’ve ever had, courtesy of Gabi. I really have to tip my cap to all the captains and locals who put in all the hard work to coordinate such a special evening.
Day 7— January 1st, 2025
New Year’s Day was really the only day we caught some bad weather during the trip. It rained quite a bit through the night and again in the morning. During a break in the storm, we caught one last snorkel on the Green Island reef. The visibility was significantly lower than the day before, and the jellyfish count way up, but we were fortunate enough to see our first shark of the trip, a nurse shark nestled safely under a reef. We would go on to see two more nurse sharks during another snorkel that afternoon.
As the wind and rain intensified, Gabi relocated us closer to Crocodile Island where the conditions were more favorable. We broke into the bottles of champagne that had not been popped the night before, played cards and told stories in the hull. Though we wouldn’t catch the sun again that day, we would get a chance to snorkel one final reef, and certainly the most expansive in terms of scale. Compared to Green Island, the diversity was lower, but there was lots of structure to explore. Highlights included two more nurse sharks, one that was quite large, and a fully grown spider crab which Gabi attempted to “yoink” to no avail.
We strapped in for our final dinner of the trip after snorkeling, sad to leave behind our boat life and an unforgettable 4 days. On our last night, Gabi set me, Jordan and Danielle up with the hand line off the back of the boat, some octopus, and the rest solved itself. After a little training, each of us were fortunate enough to reel in a great fish, this time for a catch and release.
Day 8— January 2nd, 2025
We awoke in the early AM on our departure date, with a scheduled pick-up time from the speedboat at 6:30AM. Sandra had stayed up all night making fresh bread and greeted us with bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. Ridiculous. The boat didn’t arrive until ~7:00AM due to the rain, but was fortunately fully covered for both passengers and cargo, though I would recommend waterproofing your luggage if you transported any sensitive electronics. The boat ride back to Puerto Carti took ~1 hour, maybe a little longer, and was largely uneventful. The middle seats don’t have backs, beware!
Eventually back in Panama City, we checked out the Mercado de Mariscos and walked along the waterfront before grabbing dinner at Nazca 21, a Peruvian restaurant that Gabi had recommended. It was great, and I would also recommend it.
A Few Final Thoughts and Observations
Traveling is a privilege I do not take lightly and always provides a unique opportunity to observe and reflect. Below are a few thoughts and observations I took away from the trip that are not captured explicitly in the main recap:
Guna Yala — The Guna Yala people make the rules in the San Blas. My understanding is that the boats, captains, and tourism businesses that pass through the area all must comply with the GY. Everyone we met from the tribe was extremely friendly and healthy. Most Guna, or Kuna, are dark skinned and very lean, especially those that work the canoes. They moved really well, which we observed when Venancio boarded our boat to show us his handmade mola artwork. On the boats, it is common in the mornings for the Kuna to take canoes to the sailboats and catamarans with a variety of goods, which include freshwater, seafood (fish, lobster, crab), artwork (molas), and fuel. At various points during our trip, we purchased freshwater, seafood and artwork from the Kunas.
Multi-National Tourists — There were fewer American tourists in the San Blas than other places I have been in Latin America and abroad, generally. The most common nationality we came across was Brazilian. Europeans from Spain and Italy were also common. It is unclear if Panamanians are regular in the San Blas, besides the Guna Yala. It could be the case that sailing in the San Blas is cost prohibitive to locals, though Francisco, our driver, made it sound like many people do weekend trips to the San Blas.
Worth Every Penny — The trip we chose was definitely not on the pricier end of what you can do in the San Blas and sailing adventures more broadly, but it wasn’t cheap. However, the level of service and adventure we got access to made that price seem like a steal by the end of the trip. Three meals from scratch per day, fishing, snorkeling, a New Year’s sushi beach party bon fire, paddle boarding, basically all you can drink alcohol, and other amenities made the trip worth every penny and more. In the monohull, you definitely are not paying for comfort, but I also would not describe the boat as distinctly uncomfortable. I would characterize it more as close-quarters and modest in comparison to some of the larger vessels we observed.
Thoughts on Sailing — speaking with Gabi, doing further research, and reflecting on friends I know who sail, it seems to be more common for sailing to be inherited and passed down as a tradition in families. It strikes me that a person who grows up with a family that sails and explores the world is much more likely to pursue that in their lives as well. This could be because 1) sailing has high skill & cost barriers of entry 2) the ocean is freaking dangerous and scary and 3) sailing lifestyle appears to directly juxtapose the working life that most people tend to be expected to participate in. One has to feel quite compelled to get into sailing, and having exposure and access to that early on in one’s life I would imagine has a powerful impact on one’s desire and belief that they can be a sailor as well.
To further elaborate on point number 3 above, sailing feels and looks like the definition of freedom because you can, for the most part, literally go anywhere. Gabi articulated his plans to sail his boat to Croatia, sell it, buy a new boat, and then sail the Mediterranean, out to Portugal and then return to San Blas, eventually. That lifestyle certainly can’t be without its drawbacks, which I imagine could include physical discomfort, lack of true cleanliness, and meaningful danger and loneliness. But it certainly must have some powerful upsides that would shift one’s perspective on the freedom with which you can choose to live your life, and eschew the traditional structure, costs and expectations of modern society. To me, sailing is a reminder that there are different levels of true freedom that people can achieve if they so desire.
