Where to even start? Two years ago I went to the Maldives by myself. Everyone asked me what I was going to do there solo in a honeymoon place. I had such a good time and I would recommend anyone going solo. This time I went to San Blas alone. Why am I comparing the Maldives and San Blas Islands? Yes, because they are very similar in many ways. The only thing is that Maldives has high-end, luxury islands, and whilst in San Blas, the indigenous Guna Yala tribe has self-governing authority over the islands, which means they are the only ones allowed to do anything on the islands. So you will not find any resort. In this article I will share some information about the San Blas Islands, and my full personal review of the sailing company I went with; I Travel by Boat.

In San Blas, you will find beach huts made from palm trees. How cool is that? You can also go to the San Blas Islands sailing, which is what I did. I went with a company called “I Travel by Boat”

Why “I Travel by Boat” ?

I Travel by Boat is founded by Estefanía Gamarra, a Bolivian adventurous girl who has been traveling the world. She worked in the United States for six years where she did a lot of skiing. Then she went out on a year-long backpacking trip that led her to trade a pound of potatoes in exchange for a sailing trip from Colombia to Panama. Sailing taught her so much about humbleness and life itself. She had to count everything that she consumed and the trash produced, also the dependence and strength of nature. She ended up living with the Guna families, where she had to get used to cooking on firewood, fishing, gathering coconuts, and sewing. The Guna taught her to live the most wonderful and simple life with only a few resources available. She learned to sail and started her sailing business.

By sailing with “I Travel by Boat” you will learn a lot about the Guna people and you will be having a sustainable travel experience where you have to eat what the crew or local fishermen catch each day, if there is no catch, they will prepare a delicious vegetarian option. They have two different types of boats, either Monohull sailboats or Catamarans. I went on a Catamaran during the rainy season.

Best time to go to San Blas

Like I said earlier, I went to San Blas during rainy season. Rainy season start around May and last until late December. January to May is the dry season, and the water is not as calm as it is during rainy season. In the dry season you get to sail without engine, whilst in the rainy season you must motor sail at times.

I personally liked it, even though I would love to experience it during dry season as well. I liked it because storm is fun, and if the weather is good, the snorkelling is better during rainy season due to calm waters and excellent visibility.

In the Catamaran, you can either choose to book the entire boat by yourself or share it with other travelers. It is cheaper to share the boat with others. They offer private cabins, private and shared bathrooms, 2 - 8 person capacity, fishing and snorkeling gear, motorized auxiliary boats (which take you to snorkeling spots or different islands) kayak, and stand-up paddle boards including ground transportation to the boat.

I was so happy to go on a sailing trip, I had never gone sailing before, and did not know what to expect. The weather was not the best, it was heavy rain but we went anyways. I had to wake up at 4 am, to be ready for the driver to pick me up at 5 am.

The drive to the dock takes about 3 to 4 hours depending on traffic and road conditions. The road was fine for the first hours, and then it was a lot of bumping for another hour. They have good SUV cars so it is not a problem. I slept through all the bumping. You will share the car with 6 people, it get can very tight but it works. They put the luggage either in the trunk or on the roof of the car. They advise you to bring as little as possible. I just brought my small daypack with my camera equipment and a couple of bikinis and change. You don’t need much on the boat.

When we arrived at the dock, they told us we had to wait to get in the water taxi because of the weather. It never stopped completely, but it rained less so they let us board the boat. The trip from the dock to the islands of San Blas took around 45 minutes. The water taxi stopped at a local restaurant on one of the islands. Two Guna people were waiting for me, one of them spoke very good English, and the girl was the chef of the catamaran. They brought me to the Catamaran, introduced me to the captain and his dog, then showed me around, and explained how the toilet and shower worked.

I felt a little nervous in the beginning, but then the lady gave me delicious vegetarian pasta. It was so simple but tasteful with fresh ingredients. I was very cold from the rain, so I took an hour nap. When I woke up the sky had cleared up a little, so we went to check out one of the islands. I took some pictures, went for a swim, and then after an hour or so, we went to look for starfish at the natural swimming pool. A natural swimming pool are small sand islands that are just a few feet under the water and there is no reef, so it looks like a swimming pool.

San Blas is known for its crystal clear waters, it is very good for snorkeling and spotting starfish. They say you can also touch the starfish, but luckily the guys told me they don’t do that, and that made me happy. You can spot dolphins, starfish, turtles, sharks, and other fish species. After we had seen the starfish, we went to another island where I bought local women’s handicrafts. They recommend travelers to buy from the women on the islands. Then you support them, compare to buying at the airport which would make no sense for the Gunas. I went to take some more pictures, but it was kind of cloudy so I opted for the sun the day after. Back at the boat, the chef was preparing freshly caught tuna from some local fishermen.

The fish was delicious. The chef made fresh breaded fish with guacamole and rice with salad, served with a glass of tasty red wine. Then we were sitting talking and the sky cleared up so I could see the stars and hear the stingrays jumping in the water. It was very magical and so peaceful to just sit there listening to the ocean. I went to bed early because I wanted to wake up for sunrise. Book with them here

Sunrise was magical, I took a lot of beautiful drone shots, enjoyed the now, and went paddle boarding.

My review of the company I Travel by Boat.

The boat life is simple, it's nothing luxurious if you don’t pay for a higher-class boat. I loved it though. When I arrived I felt so welcomed. They prepared amazing food for me, let me be by myself when I wanted to, and down to chat anytime. They also took me anywhere, so if I wanted to go to an island or try to find starfish they took me there right away.

The shower was good, the toilet situation was no problem, actually very simple and the bed was very comfortable. I would highly recommend this company, they focus on the indigenous Guna people. Their brand is shifting its focus mainly to honoring the Guna people because they have been outstanding stewards of their little piece of earth. “I Travel by Boat” wants travelers that visit San Blas to realize that these paradisiacal landscapes are here thanks to the care of the Guna, by continuing to live in their traditional ways mostly from fishing and coconut farming, and not over-developing the islands with western-type of construction. There are only palm huts on the islands and no foreigners or even Panamanians who is not Guna can live or have a business on the islands.

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