San Blas Islands, Panama

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to travel down to the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama to help run a medical mission campaign for the indigenous Kuna Indians.  The Kuna live almost completely independent of the Panamanian government and still hold tightly to their ancient traditions and lifestyles.  They live in small huts constructed of bamboo and palm tree leaves and sleep in hammocks rather than beds. To say the least, it was an awesome experience and I hope to go back!

My friend, Amanda, and I were the designated “team photographers!”

Amanda at work.  The picture on the right is what she was photographing at that very minute! To see a collection of photos she took, go check out her blog.

We traveled to a different island every day where we set up a small medical clinic and pharmacy in one of the huts.

In the afternoon, the children were invited to come join us for VBS. Here are some sweet little Kuna children singing a new song they learned.

This little guy was precious.  He kept scooping up mouthfuls of water and spitting it out like a fountain.  Amanda got a great shot of that!

Our bathroom facilities

This little girl is holding a baby parrot. When I first saw it I thought it was a plastic toy, and when I noticed it start moving and blinking I thought it was a baby ostrich…at which point I became very confused. All I know is that parrots apparently get much prettier with old age. 🙂

Some little fellas sportin’ the new underwear we gave them.

Everyone seemed to have pet parrots.  Pretty cool!

Mothers taking a peek at their children sitting in class…

Another baby parrot

A baptism…

Their canoes are hollowed out by hand from a single tree trunk and are relied on as their main source of transportation.