If you love the Guna Yala clap your hands!

We reach David by public bus from Almirante. Kevin from Canada is also coming along (Filthy Friday Kumpane) and we exchange some personal details and travel stories in a sober state. Stephan had a very bad night's sleep in Bocas due to toothache, so today we mainly rest. In the night, the toothache becomes unbearable and Stephan paces the room from 4 am because lying down makes everything pulse and sting. Painkillers don't help, so we are sitting in front of a Panamanian dentist's practice at 8 am sharp. After an X-ray, it becomes clear that a root canal treatment is necessary for the back tooth. Great! Fortunately, a colleague who was called in can do it right away, and after disinfecting some tools with a lighter (do they still do that in Germany?), the good doctor gets to work. He is from Argentina and was present at the World Cup final. He dryly says that Germany has caused him so much pain. Hopefully, the doctor isn’t vengeful! The surgery goes well and after three hours, some back and forth, and a hefty bill, we are discharged.

Unfortunately, the planned trip to Bouquete falls through, so we take a walk through David instead. However, there are no tourists or any sights here. Therefore, the motto is to rest first.

The next day, we fly from David to Panama City as planned in the morning. From the airport, we walk a half eternity to the spot where buses to the city pick us up. It is swelteringly hot! Stephan feels very weak and for the last few meters, we take a taxi to the hostel in the old town of Casco Viejo. Nina has to carry the bags alone up to the second floor because Stephan can't do it anymore. Then, the thermometer reveals a severe man flu and nothing works for them anymore. Stephan sleeps, and Nina takes care of him.

On October 11th, thanks to rest and fever-reducing foods, the fever is gone, and we head to Panama City's downtown for the obligatory visit to the Hard Rock Cafe. Because we are once again plagued by hunger, we go to the nearest restaurant, where we are slightly out of place wearing flip-flops. The waiter brings us the grilled food to look at, and after viewing the menu, we decide to order only a salad and half a piece of meat. Back at the hostel, we meet Renée (Filthy Friday Kumpanin) again and make plans to cook dinner in the evening. While all the other nations visit the cheap restaurants in the area, the Germans take over the kitchen. We are old cheapskates! Nina meets handball girls from Hamburg, and Stephan meets a Vodafone employee from Düsseldorf who will soon be looking after Martin Hampel (Stephan's former boss at Vodafone). The world is small! After assessing the man flu status, we book the trip to the Guna Yalas on the San Blas Islands for the next day and enjoy a beer or two with our new friends in the evening.

The driver is waiting for us at 5 am at the hostel. Maxi (Vodafone) and his girlfriend Sandra are also in the car with us. Stop, two very drunk Irishmen are coming back from the club, and they have also booked. This could be fun. We drive a bit, then we make a scheduled stop at the supermarket so we can stock up on snacks and drinks. The food on the islands is very basic. We only buy the essentials, while the younger Irishman next to us clears the shelves because his legs are not yet capable. The journey then takes us through the San Blas Mountains. The roller coaster ride is only briefly interrupted by the border control because the Guna Yala fought for their independence about 100 years ago. When the border guard sees our four German passports, he waves us through without even flipping through them. What a well-traveled passport, right? Surprisingly, we make it to the boat dock without regurgitating, from where a water taxi takes us to our island, Asseryaladub.

Our private hut consists only of branches and has palm leaves as a roof, but it is somehow cozy. We don't have time to rest because we immediately start with the first day tour. Our first destination is a small island with a shipwreck within swimming distance of the beach. After a small snack with nachos (that heavenly dip!!!), we sprint into the waves in snorkeling gear. Observing a wreck underwater is an incredibly intense experience for us. The actual foreign body has accumulated an enormous number of marine creatures over time, and the old boat is bursting with life. The GoPro proves its worth at this point. We have lunch on the island opposite, of course, fish and rice. After that, we go to another island to sunbathe and to a sandbank to observe starfish. Back on the island, dinner is served against a beautiful sunset, and with beer and rum, our little tourist community grows closer. The Irishmen David and William are reanimated again and order one bottle of Abuelo after another. Our 'pilots' Pedro (Portugal) and Stan 'Schtaaaan' (Slovakia) have been with us all day, and we also become friends with the escalation over time. After a slightly meager bonfire, the beach discotheque opens, and our little Guna Yala community probably makes the sales of their lives. Late at night, Stephan impresses the community with his knowledge of German rap, while later, football songs in German, Portuguese, and Slovak alternate to fill the island. During the night, a violent thunderstorm passes over us, and the lightning illuminates our little hut at regular intervals to daylight brightness, while the rain pounds on our palm roof. It is scary and incredibly cool at the same time. We feel like Tom Hanks in his cave in Cast Away!

On Friday, thanks to the fresh air, we manage to get up relatively easily and without a major hangover for breakfast (7 am!). We are awakened by a trumpet signal produced by a large shell. However, Stephan's voice has suffered, and he can only manage a weak croak now. His own fault! Directly after breakfast, we first go to the Guna Yala main island, where we get a small insight into the life of the spiritual community. Very interesting! After new tourists are loaded onto the boat, we are picked up again from the main island. During the day, we jet from island to island and enjoy life to the fullest. Unfortunately, the Irishmen have to leave early because they have blown all the money for the second night. Thanks to our guide Erik, we have the loudest music system in all of San Blas and make our arrival on each island accordingly noticeable. The gang is here, hide your beer! In the evening, we sit on the dock of our island and wish that the day never ends. At night, we repeat the procedure from the previous evening but with a slightly different group of people.

Saturday is departure day, and today Stephan has a harder time getting out of bed. Nina smartly refrained from hard alcohol the previous evening. The day tour takes our party boat to various islands again. Because we don't particularly like one island, our group spontaneously swims to another island. A finest workout! For lunch, of course, there is fish with rice. The tour is over in the late afternoon, and we have to return to Panama City. After dinner, we meet Pedro, Stan, Maxi, and Sandra again at the Tantalo Rooftop Bar, but we don't stay out for long and fall into bed very tired.

The next day, we have the free pancakes at the hostel one last time, and then an Uber takes us to the airport. Next stop: Colombia! Vamos!

At this point, we would like to thank the entire party gang again for the amazing time in San Blas. Many thanks to Erik, Maxi, Sandra, Pedro, Stan, Robert, Elmo, David, William, Franzi, Pirate, Chris, and Carmen!!! Se pone caliente cuando escucha este perreo...