It is February 25th & we are now in Mamitupu, a small island with 1200 residents. It's a very pretty island because a portion of it has not been developed as it is considered to be posessed by bad spirits "espiritu malo". The people are very friendly & this is once again one of the more traditional pueblos. There are 20 ulus at a time coming from the mainland to the village with their ulus chock-full of coconuts. (They're also full of 20 different kinds of bananas) There's a coconut press here on the island & I bought some pure coconut oil from Pablo who also speaks quite proficient English. He had once lived in England for several years, but has come back to Kuna Yala. He's been telling us quite a bit of history & has serious misgivings as to the future of the Kunas. The younger generations don't want to farm the plantations - they want to move to Panama City & not have to work as hard as their parents with all the amenities of running water, electricity, Tv, etc. Pablo has 5 children & 3 of them live in the city. He says it is the way of the future & the Kunas will have to change. Very sad for these people who are trying to hold onto their heritage. We've booked a lobster dinner at Pablos restaurant for tonight ($6.00) & Peter had gone out earlier with "Al" to help catch 3 more. Looking forward to that!
We took a side trip in the dinghy to Achutupu today which is just a couple of miles away. Bought a very authentic mola today - I know it's authentic because it's been worn! The Kuna women have a tendancy to rip their blouses off standing there in bra only trying to sell their molas. Gives new meaning to "giving their shirts off their back" to you.
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