{"id":4664,"date":"2022-08-05T20:18:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T18:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/?p=4664"},"modified":"2022-08-05T20:19:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T18:19:42","slug":"sandbanks-the-immense-natural-pools-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-at-the-san-blas-archipelago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/2022\/08\/05\/sandbanks-the-immense-natural-pools-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-at-the-san-blas-archipelago\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandbanks\u201d, the Immense Natural Pools in the Middle of the Ocean at the San Blas Archipelago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Caribbean coast of Panama keeps one of the best\npreserved mangrove and coral ecosystems in the world; The political and\neconomic autonomy of the Guna ethnic group has much to do with this natural\nmiracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The San Blas archipelago is a succession of hundreds\nof islands and small keys where you can enjoy impressive beaches, almost virgin\nseabeds and a local culture that continues to maintain the ancestral customs of\nits people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Claudio Carrasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Natural Wonder Created by a Tsunami<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the middle of the islands, in what seems to be the\ncenter of the immensity of the sea, there are shallow transparent water\nsandbanks called “Sandbanks” where people can swim in warm waters and\nhave contact with marine species from starfish even manta rays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Gunas, these pools used to be islands\nthat sank more than 100 years ago due to a tsunami that hit the area. This area\nis the favorite for many tourists who make a “tour” to Guna Yala, since it makes them\nfeel in the middle of the ocean like few other places in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Claudio Carrasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Large Natural Pool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the Visitors are destined for this sector at\nthe northernmost point, which are those that are protected by the Gulf of Guna\nYala. In this area, the concentration of small islands and rocks form a truly\ngigantic pool where people can walk in water up to their waists, feeling like\nthey are in the middle of the ocean. A true wonder of nature, where children\nand adults can swim, take photos, play water sports, relax or snorkel to enjoy\nthe beauties of the surrounding coral reefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Claudio Carrasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Get to Paradise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To visit Guna Yala and reach the beautiful natural\npools, there are multiple “tour” operators that offer the transfer\nservice from Panama City to the Port of Carti, which is the starting point to the San Blas\nislands. There is no public transportation to get to San Blas and upon arrival\nit is mandatory to pay a tax of USD $20.00 per person. In case the person is\nPanamanian or resides in Panama, the tax is USD $5.00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Puerto de Carti, you take a boat to one of the many islands at your disposal. The boats are shared and have a maximum capacity of 12 people. A seat can be reserved in advance through a tour operator or upon arrival. The boat trip to the islands depends on the distance and the weather. Isla Aguja is 15 minutes away, however Isla Perro is 35 minutes away. From the island where you stay you will be transported to the “Sandbanks” of San Blas, an icon of Panamanian nature that no one can miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Claudio Carrasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Caribbean coast of Panama keeps one of the best preserved mangrove and coral ecosystems in the world; The political and economic autonomy of the Guna ethnic group has much to do with this natural miracle. The San Blas archipelago is a succession of hundreds of islands and small keys where you can enjoy impressive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4670,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664\/revisions\/4670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevisitorpanama.info\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}