February 24 - Istupu & its the Independance Day Celebration, which of course starts 4 days previous to the actual date (Feb. 25), but no matter, the Kunas aren't nearly as noisy as the Eastern Caribes. The music consists of flutes & chanting, but because the big thing here is the re-enactment of the Kunas overtaking the Panamanians, there's a lot of "gunshots" going off at 3 & 4 o'clock in the morning. All very interesting. This is the largest village in all of San Blas. I'm finding the people extremely friendly here, especially the kids & there are thousands of kids. I think half the population here is under 6 years old. All the kids come running out of their homes so excited to see us. They're yelling, "Hola, hola, hola" & wanting to shake hands or give high fives. Wearing nothing (literally), but great big smiles on their faces! They are so cute & it's back to feeling like your famous again. We've been able to actually find some chicken here & the veggie boat came in last night - that's the first time I've gotten verduras since the 4 carrots in Sapzurro. One has to ask - what the heck do these guys eat? They look healthy enough, but there's only so much rice & yucca one can eat. We have found a great restaurant here. $3.25 will buy you the meal of the day which is either pollo or carne, plus a beer for $.85! We come out of there for under $10. for the 2 of us, including the propina. I wasn't looking forward to this place when we first pulled in, but I'm finding the people so very friendly, that Peter & I will be sorry to go. There was also the river run yesterday which was enchanting. The bird song was wonderful & we found the whole journey up the river to be quite enthralling. There's always something special about a place even if it looks pretty rough on the outside. The Kunas are a very gentle people & we're thoroughly enjoying that trait of theirs. We bought a beautiful painting from the local artist, Aleck. He's an extremely nice person & his work is incredibly detailed & truly reflects the lifestyle of the Kunas.
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