What a pleasant island. I'm sure it's not easy to resist becoming a tourist spectacle with the possible revenue, but these inhabitants seem to be doing the right thing. I was in the San Blas islands many years ago (also Kuna), and it was similar, but I have no idea how they would be today.
Would love to have a comparison - hard to say. But I suspect not much different from when you visited. Still traditional ways. Traditional crafts. Kuna language is still alive. Although, they use smart phones - very sparsely, run a few local restaurants as well as provision and delivery boats for sailors. But they still don’t like people taking pictures in the villages. And don’t invite tourists to where they live.
My memory is not so great on the details, I was 12 years old. But they were OK with photos, and we got there in a Cessna 6-seater. So even then it was a bit more 'tourist-friendly'. But people dressed traditionally, including wearing dresses with old US and Panamanian silver coins sewn in.
What a pleasant island. I'm sure it's not easy to resist becoming a tourist spectacle with the possible revenue, but these inhabitants seem to be doing the right thing. I was in the San Blas islands many years ago (also Kuna), and it was similar, but I have no idea how they would be today.
Would love to have a comparison - hard to say. But I suspect not much different from when you visited. Still traditional ways. Traditional crafts. Kuna language is still alive. Although, they use smart phones - very sparsely, run a few local restaurants as well as provision and delivery boats for sailors. But they still don’t like people taking pictures in the villages. And don’t invite tourists to where they live.
My memory is not so great on the details, I was 12 years old. But they were OK with photos, and we got there in a Cessna 6-seater. So even then it was a bit more 'tourist-friendly'. But people dressed traditionally, including wearing dresses with old US and Panamanian silver coins sewn in.