Nargana and Corazon de Jesus

Nargana was only a short trip away from the Coco Banderos Cays, so we made the trip in the early afternoon while the light was still good for "eyeball navigation".  Nargana and its' sister island Corazon de Jesus, are said to be the most modern islands in Kuna Yala.   The people there have partly given up the traditional Kuna way of life and embraced a more modern way of life.  We needed provisions for the boat, and we were looking forward to dinner out, so we pulled in and anchored next to Nargana, very near the Rio Diablo.   We were also looking to take a few side trips in this area, so Nargana was going to be the place where we would look for a "fixer" – a local who could make some arrangements for us.

 

We had just gotten Stray Cat anchored when the "Kuna Navy" made its' appearance - 3 Cayucos, full steam ahead towards the boat.  As usual, there were lots of women and children with Molas and jewelry, but one cayuco was manned by none other than Federico.   Federico Morales was "the fixer" that we had been looking for!  He handed us his card that said "Tour Guides &Yacht Services".   In about half an hour of conversation and negotiation, Federico had taken our 6 bags of trash for us, set up a trip for us on the Rio Diablo for the following day and he was going to arrange a visit with a traditional Kuna Village on Isla Tigre.   Perfecto!! 

 

Our guidebook agreed with Federico on which restaurant was the best on the island, so we headed over to Nargana in the dinghy for dinner at Nali's, and Federico joined us there.   We ordered dinner and while it was being prepared, Federico gave us a tour of the village.  They had a school, a bank, a library, a volleyball/basketball court, stores, hotels and many homes or huts.   Most huts even had satellite television!  Children were running and showing off for us everywhere.  The boys walked on their hands and the girls smiled and giggled and they all wanted you to take their pictures, and then to see their pictures on the LCD screen.   Walter had the huge professional video camera, and was filming the whole scene – he caused quite a stir among the children as they reveled in the opportunity to be on TV.    All of the people we met and talked to were very nice, and you could tell that they had very big hearts.

 

We headed back to Stray Cat in the dinghy after a good dinner of langostinos, chicken (pollo), rice, potato salad and cole slaw - the motor sputtered a little but got us home – in the rain.