Kuna Yala, otherwise known as San Blas, must be one of the world’s most intensely relaxing places. The moment I stepped off the plane, my shoulders lost their typical hunch, my legs relaxed, and I breathed more deeply. Lying in a hammock on the deck of the Hotel San Blas, there was nothing to think about but the sound of the waves. Walking through the maze-like village of Nalunega, only to reach the other side after three minutes, I wondered how any place could be so calm.
I realized that I had not felt so peaceful since being in Sapone, since the nights I’d spend lying on a bench, staring at the stars, and marveling at the quiet. I started to think that I needed to be “away” to find calm. After all, the only similarities between Nalunega and Sapone (asides from the slow pace of village life) is that in both places I was entirely out of my element, almost as if I was totally far away from myself. Maybe this is why I’ve become a bit of a “travel junkie” – I only seem to have any inner peace when I am separated from everything familiar.
I was only on Nalunega for two nights, so I don’t really know about the social fabric of the Kuna, so I don’t want to make any grand, sweeping generalizations. The only real sense that I got was that the people felt intrinsically connected to the islands, and were content and proud of who they were. This is not to say that I didn’t notice hints of problems, especially of gender imbalances and alcohol problems, but I don’t want to comment on something I have no real knowledge of. All I know is that the people on the islands contributed greatly to the peace that I felt.
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