Panama trip - Santa Marta

April 23rd - We left Oranjestad, Aruba and sailed overnight to Santa Marta, Columbia, arriving on 24 April. I must admit I was a bit nervous about going there, but all went fine. We did not do a tour, nothing looked all that interesting. So we ran the tourist vendor gauntlet and headed into town. My limited Spanish was useful, at least I knew 'iglesia' which got us a guide to the cathedral. Then we discovered the small history museum and finally headed back to the ship. I almost got one of the bags, but never found one that I liked quite enough.

Once we got back to the ship I had several of my traveling companions ask me if I had made it to the Sit, Stitch and Knit. I missed it, but went to the next one. There were several more that I attended. One lady in particular asked me about my socks every time I saw her, which were my travel project.

25 April - we arrived at the San Blas Islands, which was one place I was really looking forward to seeing. I wanted to get some Molas. We got on one of the first tenders and headed over to the island. The island was the commercial island, rather than where people actually lived. There were clotheslines filled with Molas. Mola means blouse and all of the women wear blouses with a Mola on the front and one on the back (a pair) then the shoulder area is a sheer fabric, with short puffed sleeves, generally. These people are very small, so the molas that were originally in service as clothes are not that big. Some are made specifically for selling, and are larger and not made in pairs. You don't have to buy both of the pair, prices are for each one. I got a couple of pairs, but mostly individual ones.