The Epitome of Paradise

It is literally Paradise. We sailed into Panama's San Blas Islands and anchored overnight. It was a surprise port that, despite having been planned for weeks, no students knew about. I was in Biology 12 class when the Sorlandet shook vigorously at the friction of the anchor dropping and running against the hull. It was a type of excitement that couldn't be explained in words alone. As soon as we knew what was happening a roar of everyone's cheers ran across the banjer and my entire class jumped out of their seats to run at our teacher and embrace him in a hug of pure joy. For that day and a half that we were about to spend in Panama, we were leaving behind the viscous seas and dreadfully tough classes. It was the perfect vacation for everyone!

San Blas is the epitome of everyone's bream paradise. The island we occupied is a mere four hundred meters in perimeter and coated in palm trees. A single family of the Kuna people, indigenous to San Blas, took residence on Turtle Island, as ii is called. They wore the most vibrant clothes that I had ever laid eyes on and beyond friendly. From head to toe, bracelets, weaving's and died cloth covered their body. Some Spanish was spoken but it was in a pigeon dialect. I wish that I could have communicated with them in more than the basic sentences that I knew. 

All day was spent on the beach. The family had set up a volley ball net for our use and we played an extremely competitive game of students versus maritime crew. Ironically, it ended up being a game of one gender versus the other, and we, the girls lost badly. However, that is not to say that boys are better than girls (they had the height advantage). The waters which surround the island brought sights to my eyes that were on the verge of unbelievable. Speckled in various shades of blue from deep turquoise to crystal clear indigo, the sea had an abundance of marine life. I swam among the barracudas, stingrays, sea stars, reef fish, and sharks. 

It was an overall amazing day that ended with me taking a nap in the hammock which lies between two breezy palm trees. Only downside is that no paradise is perfect and a week later I am still suffering the burns that the sun was so kind to give me. Lesson learned: always wear and reapply sunscreen.