PANAMA

Wounaan Indian woman with an exquisite parrot and butterfly
basket she had been working on for a month.

While in Panama City I visited the Central Artisans Market located behind the old Y.M.C.A. in the town of Balboa. I was looking for the intricately woven baskets of the Wounaan and Embera Indians from the Darien rain forest province of Panama. I was not disappointed and found many designs from geometric to tropical birds, insects and plant life. I watched in fascination as the Indian women wove the baskets using needles and long grass threads dyed from extracts of plants and earth. Large baskets take over 3 months to weave and sell for $400. Unfortunately my budget did not go that high and I chose a medium parrot basket for $70 and a butterfly and cricket plate for $25.

My Darien baskets and some of my molas.

MOLAS OF THE SAN BLAS
Basket weaving of the Darien

The San Blas Islands of Panama is an area I looked forward to visiting ever since I began to see colorful molas on other cruising yachts. As a small girl the intricate, multi-layered applique textile art sewn by the Kuna indian women represented a magical land far away that beckoned me.

It took 25 years before I sailed to these enchanted islands on my own boat where I experienced the warmth and pride of these independent and unusual people. I enjoyed my days of interacting and getting to know a few Kuna women and had hours of choosing my own collection of molas.

The Kuna Village of Mormake Tapu.	A narrow pathway through the village.
The Restrapo family home.	Choosing a mola.
Kuna Indian sewing a mola.	Kuna ladies showing me their molas.