There are only 2 island with what you could call hotels on them. Visiting those island would be like visiting Nassau and saying you have been to the Bahamas. The beauty of the San Blas lay on the other 348 islands and farther away from the range of the small kuna tour boats. Your prediction is quite off and It surly wont happen by 2011 but there culture is on the way out. The nice thing about the San Blas is they are not governed by Panama but by themselves. The elders would never allow a Starbucks or subway or any non-kuna owned business, and none of the islands have electricity save for a small generator to run lights for a few hours at night.

One of Panama’s largest indigenous groups, the Kuna people have lived on the Comarca Kuna Yala chain of more than 350 islands and coral cays since the 1600s. Kuna women make and sell molas, swatches of hand-embroidered cloth in vivid purples, reds, and blues that are typically made into garments. The men spend their days fishing for grouper and mackerel and leading visitors on boat trips to the archipelago’s dozens of uninhabited islands, some barely 100 yards wide. Many hotels here offer immersive, all-inclusive experiences. At Cabañas Uaguinega on Achutupu Island, 45 minutes from Panama City by air, the rate for a bamboo-walled, solar-powered cabin covers two tours or cultural outings daily and all meals (uaguinega.com, from $140 per person).

sadly, I’m predicting a Starbucks and a Subway by 2011(

Take care and I’m watching you…

Capt. Paul
s/v …

We are not in the pocket, up river at the anchorage. I’m doing some work with Mack as well this week, they are really good guys. I’ll moniter channel 68 today, hail Splendid.

Fletch
We are re-designing the spot page so it keeps my track. The page from Spot erases all tracks after a week.

WOOT, we sold one raffle ticket over night only 39 left :)