The Islands & Beaches of the San Blas – Panama (Extended Version)

I have already written about the Islands and beaches of the San Blas in Panama but I wanted to give the extended version as this place was so magical it really deserves more than just one blog post. When Lindsay and I picture Paradise the first place that comes to our mind is the San Blas. Picture a collection of small tropical islands, bright blue water and white sandy beaches for as far as the eye can see. I will concede that there are many places in the world that fit this description but very few are as far removed as the San Blas in Panama. Most of them are not even inhabited and the ones that are will simply have a few small wooden huts and a community of the Kuna Indians living on them. Lindsay and I were lucky to experience these islands with a local Kuna Indian named “Leo.” We were staying on a small Island called Yandup which has a few small bungalows and is run by a local Kuna family. Each day Leo would load us into a small wooden canoe and take us to a new island to explore. Numerous times you would pass other locals out in the water with their canoes. I remember one time in particular passing a small wooden canoe full of 3 small local boys who all gave us a big smile and wave as we passed. It seemed each island Leo took us to was better than the last and one time he even took us to explore a beautiful Mangrove forest/swamp near the mainland. The first island he ever took us too had a very small beach but was absolutely gorgeous. I remember vividly the numerous palm trees that had grown out over the water which offered the perfect amount of shade as we laid on the beach relaxing and listening to music. The next day we were taken to another island that was much bigger and Lindsay and I set off to explore. We found a small section of the island where two white sandy beaches came to a point and we set up camp (beach towels and snorkel gear) there. We spent the next 2-3 hours just swimming, snorkeling and lying around. We truly had almost the entire island to ourselves and it was the definition of paradise. The last island we were taken to (on our last day) was a very small island that had a bunch of beautiful tall palm trees, a large white sandy beach and an old colorful boat that had been abandoned on the beach. Our guide Leo just dropped us off on the beach and then hung out with us on the island (he mostly kept to himself) why we just laid around, swam and snorkeled. Because the San Blas are so remote the snorkeling and marine life is absolutely incredible (i.e. it has not been ruined by commercial tourism). It is not uncommon at all to find huge beautiful sea shells and thousands of fish while you are out snorkeling. Furthermore, there was literally a zero chance that you would run into anybody else and if you did it would simply be a local Kuna family. There are few places on this earth that have truly earned the title “paradise” but the islands that make up the San Blas in Panama certainly have. There is literally no place on earth like it.