After our stay in the eastern Holandes, anchored in the Swimming Pool and then Hot Tub, we were ready to explore more of the many anchorages here in the San Blas islands. Our friends, Dave and Sharda, (s/v Morgan) were anchored in Esnasdup, located in the southeast area of the San Blas, so we decided to head over and join them.

The Guna islands of the San Blas have very unique names. Many end in dup (pronounced “doop”)…Esnasdup, Miriadup, Salardup, etc. We’re told that “dup” means that there is a well located on the island.

More than one of these islands have the same name. There are several Banedups, Miriadups and Waisaladups, just to name a few. This can make trying to meet or locate friends challenging…”which Banedup are you anchored off of?” “Is that the Waisaladup in the western Holandes, or near Green Island?” Cruising is a constant state of learning and adjusting.

To get to the southeast islands, we had to come out from the protection of the reefs, and cross open water. We rolled across the large swells, and I was glad to have taken time to secure things for big water. Soon we were behind the protection of another reef, and in sight of Esnasdup. These islands are closer to the mainland of Panama, with views of the mountains in the distance.

In keeping with the multiple names theme, Esnasdup has a “pool” of it’s own, located between two islands, and just behind the reef. Dave and Sharda were anchored in the pool, and we dropped anchor there to join them. It was great to enjoy views of the reef off our bow, and still have the mountains in sight behind us.

As usual, the islands surrounding us were beautifully scenic, and we often saw the locals in their ulus, fishing in the area.

There was talk of a full moon trash burn on a nearby beach, so I spread the word to make it an appetizer pot luck as well. I wracked my brain to come up with some sort of table, because the alternative was for everyone to hold their dish in one hand and pass it around, drink in the other hand, while trying to eat at the same time (this has happened).

I came up with my own “MacGyver” idea, to fashion a table from items on board Sea Life: a piece of plywood we had under the couch cushions, and some milk crates that were being  used to store provisions…well done me!

As expected, Scott was less than thrilled to have to empty said milk crates of their contents, and to use his piece of plywood, but he helped me gather the stuff, and then hauled everything over to the beach. He also went over early in the day, to clear the sand of driftwood and other things, opening up more usable beach space.

Everyone was very happy to have somewhere to put the food, and the night was great fun. All trash was burned, and the moon was beautiful. I was busy talking and eating, so unfortunately, no moon photos.

Scott came up empty for fish or lobster in the area around Esnasdup, so we purchased eight lobsters from a local fisherman…for 15.00! Howard has become very intrigued by lobsters, and he had quite a stare-down with one of this bunch.

With more windy days predicted, we decided to leave the exposed location we were in and head for an anchorage nearby, off of Green Island; there was also talk of very good internet there. We didn’t find the good internet (none at all, actually), but did find a scenic spot to anchor off of Kuigaladup (say that three times fast), near Green Island, still enjoying the mountain views behind us in the distance.

Scott took the dinghy over to Green Island, for a walkabout (not all of the islands are cleared well). It doesn’t take long to cover these small islands, but he had fun wandering around for a bit, and stretching his legs.

Scott burned our trash, and we took the time to sew up some canvass covers for our grill and the inflatable dingy motor; he cuts, I sew (Howard’s latest sleeping/fighting box is under the table).

As usual here, after a few hours of work is done, it’s time for play, so Scott, Jon and Shannon headed out to the reef on a fishing mission. Shannon came back with a crab and a huge lobster, and Scott speared  more crab than we could eat!

These big guys taste just like the blue crab that we get from the Chesapeake Bay back home, so of course, we ate them Baltimore-style! (fyi, the wooden mallets were not enough, so we had to break out the hammer from Scott’s tool box)

I spent two days on the beach of my favorite cay, while Scott explored the reef. The calm winds made it brutally hot, but the views were worth it; and, cooling off in that gorgeous, clear water was heaven.

I’m the first to say that our trip is much more of an adventure, than “living the dream,” but on days like this, with a beach all to myself, and the only sounds from nearby birds and gentle waves lapping at the shore, I definitely feel “dream” vibe.

We had another trash burn gathering on the beach with our friends, and then moved toward the back of the anchorage, allowing us to leave early the next morning, without having to worry about traveling through coral in the low light as we left the area.

Our overnight spot was just as scenic, and Scott enjoyed a snorkel on some nearby patch coral.

We loved our time in the Cocos, and are so grateful for the stretch of near flat wind while we were there, something very, very rare this time of year in the San Blas. Here are more photos.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”