[Richard230]

While I was stationed at Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone during the mid-1960's I took a group tour to the San Blas Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Panama Canal, not far off the coast of Panama. While I could not ride my 1966 Suzuki B100P there, I could take an DC-3 airplane ride to a gravel airfield on the mainland near the islands, then travel by dugout canoe to a larger motor vessel which took the tour group to several different islands to visit these interesting people, who at the time kind of had at least one foot in the past. No doubt things look a little different now. Anyway you might find this selection of some of the pictures that I took during the trip to be interesting.

Naturally, I will have to break up these photos in a series of posts due to the 4 attachments limit.

[Richard230]

 

[Richard230]

 

[Richard230]

 

[Karl Fenn]

Very interesting the people look so happy and content, God l remember those old twin prop planes been across the North Sea a few times, they used to knock and bump in turbulence but were fun to fly in, actually as l recall the canal had not long been completed at that time l bet they never knew how busy it would become cutting the carbon footprint even then.

[Richard230]

BTW, the way their economic system functioned was that most of the men worked for the U.S. military in mess halls and the like. They sent their pay back to the chief on each island who then used the money to take care of the women and children. At least that was the way it was back then, or so I was told. Any extra money was turned into gold jewelry and worn by the women and girls instead of sending the money to a Panamanian bank. I was also told that it was typical for at least one big storm during the year to overwhelm the islands and wash away all of the grass huts and any accumulated debris. Then the natives would return and rebuild their huts with vegetation from nearby islands that had not been damaged.

[Karl Fenn]

They sound very organised survivors seems they can well cope with what nature had to throw at them, you were very lucky getting to go there sounds a fantastic experience.

[Richard230]

They sound very organised survivors seems they can well cope with what nature had to throw at them, you were very lucky getting to go there sounds a fantastic experience.

It was certainly something that I had never experienced before or since.  I should add that the video of the Chevy Corvairs making their way through the Darien Gap is what inspired me to post this thread.