Our plan for today was to travel to Cayos Honandeses, another group of islands, where we would snorkel and island hop a bit before anchoring for the night.

Juile and I woke around 7:30 and went up for coffee and to relax reading.

In this picture, Julie is wearing a traditional Guna anklet. The night before, some women rowed out to our boat in a dugout canoe selling them. One of the girls in the boat helped Julie tie it on, which was a somewhat complicated affair. Cassie got up a little later, but Lydie slept in. A little before 9, we pulled up the anchor (which finally woke Lydie) and set off, passing islands and a sunken ship.

To travel faster, we looped north into deeper waters rather than weaving among the islands. The waves were bigger in the deeper water, and the girls started to feel a little seasick. That discomfort was quickly dispelled, however, when a pod of spotted dolphins surrounded the boat.

They surrounded us on all sides, passing just feet below us.

There were too many to count!

And the dolphins were clearly having fun, cutting in and out of the water and swimming by us upside down.

As we neared the islands, the dolphins moved on. We soon reached our destination, and kids powered up with some breakfast of eggs, fruit, and coffee cake.

Our plans was to go snorkeling with Marcelino and then to explore the island a bit. As we were getting ready, some Guna men arrived in a dugout canoe selling their catch.

I was particularly impressed by their long paddles, with long blades designed for rowing in the ocean. I was ten times as impressed by the men who used those paddles. Our crew purchased some spiny lobster and octopus. The Guna men kept seawater in the bottom of their boat to keep the lobsters alive, and our crew then kept them alive in a bag tied to the back of the catamaran. One of the Guna men expertly cleaned the octopuses on the back of our boat.

Unfortunately, when we were finally ready to go, it was raining. Lydie took the time to film a nice little video tour of the boat.

And even in a downpour, Guna Yala is beautiful. Different, but beautiful nonetheless.

Besides, since we were going to get wet in the water anyway, we decided there was no reason to wait. We hopped in the dingy with Marcelino and set off to snorkel. On the way, Cassie’s hair was sticking up from static electricity in the air, making us a little nervous about lightening, but Marcelino assured us it was fine. He’s got the kind of expertise you just trust, so we didn’t worry. We soon hopped in the water and were off. Julie preferred to swim with a floatation device to start, but the girls enjoyed diving down to get closer views of the corals and fish.

We could hear the patter of rain hitting the water above us and the clicking of crustaceans below us. And there was so much to see!

We saw another nurse shark, and Julie was only moderately concerned this time. Progress! After snorkeling, we enjoyed walking around the island.

In the coral shallows, we could see another small shark swimming nearby. We returned to the beach to meet up with Marcelino. He had gone spear fishing, but had only caught one small fish, as the elastic for his speargun was a little old. Fortunately, he had met with some other Guna fishermen who had caught a large Caribbean red snapper, which Marcelino purchased for tonight’s dinner. We arrived back at the boat to find that Juliana had lunch waiting for us – salad, rice, and hamburgers. She also made freshly squeezed mango juice!

After lunch, we pulled up the anchor to go to another nearby island. Along the way, we played cards and relaxed. When we arrived, our crew asked us if we would like to eat dinner that evening on the island. Marcelino said that he could ask a Guna friend on the island to cook the red snapper in the traditional Guna way. We immediately agreed, and he set off in the dingy to make arrangements. In the meantime, we decided to go for a swim, which turned into a moderately ridiculous swim to the island.

This island was small, so we decided to walk around it via the beaches, the shallows when there was no beach, and on land in a few tricky spots.

We also started discovering incredible shells, some of which were old and buried in the sand.

Some were bleached white by the sun, while others were still beautifully colored.

As we neared some grass huts on a small peninsula, we decided to cut through the island to the beach on the other side so as not to intrude.

However, as we passed nearby, we saw Marcelino. We soon discovered that this was where we would be eating dinner. In fact, the fish was already cooking over coconut husks, while the rice was simmering in coconut milk.

We also got a good look at the palm-frond hut where we would be eating dinner that night.

As we walked, we found more and more shells. Team Hubbard (particularly Cassie) likes to make cairns on our travels, including in Cornwall, Norway, Canada, and Spain, and we decided to make one in San Blas — but this time from shells.

Meanwhile, Lydie collected a bouquet of exceptional shells, some of which followed us home to Maryland.

This video helps to convey the size and setting better.

We continued our trek around the island, and spotted a stingray as we waded in the shallows.

You can clearly see his barb on his tail. Fortunately, he was shy and gave us plenty of space. We soon made it back to where we started, having circum-strolled the small island. We could see the Yoli waiting for us.

It was a little after 5pm and time to get back to the boat. Juile opted for a quick dingy ride, while Lydie, Cassie, and I swam. Once there, Lydie showered on the back of the boat.

Cassie got in touch with her island zen.

Once cleaned up, we relaxed and played cards while our superstar hosts worked to set up for dinner on the island. Soon it was time to go. In the light of Marcelino’s headlamp, we climbed into the dingy and headed to shore. We landed, and as we walked along a path to the hut, we came across a hermit crab with his pants down. Ever concerned with the small creatures of the world, Julie tried to coax him back into his shell.

He resisted at first but soon was scared enough to seek the comfort of his former house. Having cared for one sea creature, it was time to eat another. We sat down in the large hut, which was open on each side, so that refreshing sea breezes gently through. Marcelino soon entered carrying the fish.

We were ready to eat! But first, we started with a toast, and Marcelino taught us to say “cheers” in Guna – “Iddomalando!”

We dug into the food, with the sounds of rustling palm leaves, small lapping waves, and island music. The fish was the star of the evening. It was smokey from four hours of cooking over coconut husks, and salty from its time in the ocean. The key limes we squeezed on top completed the simple but exquisite dish. After we all had seconds, there wasn’t much left.

As we ate, the moon came out. We walked back to dingy under the palms, hoping that we wouldn’t step on any naked hermit crabs.

The night had been unique, authentic, indulgent, and a little bit magical, just like San Blas itself.

-Will