Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Christian churches have taken root on some islands, on the understanding that they respect
traditional
religion
. Despite the Guna authorities' success in insisting on intercultural bi-
lingual
education
, schooling is primarily about preparing young people for a modern in-
dustrialized society. In this respect, many Guna hope that tourism, if managed carefully,
may help ensure that changes in lifestyle can coexist with more established mores.
Already, tourism has played a pivotal role in the Guna's reluctant but inevitable meta-
morphosis from a collective barter economy - the word for “money” does not exist in Guna
- to a more individualistic cash economy. The resulting
economic inequalities
have put a
strain on communities that are already struggling to deal with major social upheavals due
to increasing contact with outsiders (
uagmala
) and returning urbanized Guna who are no
longer prepared to live as their ancestors did.
Environmental damage
by outsiders and
the Guna themselves constitutes a further challenge, often exacerbated by tourism. Issues
include overfishing, particularly of lobster, reef degradation, the deforestation of the main-
land, and waste disposal.
San Ignacio de Tupile
Ten kilometres southeast of Playón Chico, midway along the
comarca
, lies the well-organ-
ized community of
San Ignacio de Tupile
(
Dad Nagued Dupir
, which translates as “where
the sun rises”). As you step out of a boat at the community pier, you are greeted by a statue
of the Virgin Mary - an indication of the island's fairly widespread evangelization - who is
often surrounded by an assortment of goods awaiting shipment from the adjacent warehouse
of one of the
comarca
's main distributors. Soft drinks, dry foodstuffs, fuel and vegetables
such as onions, potatoes and garlic, all pass through, and shops here are consequently better
supplied than on many islands, so it's a good place to stock up. Though tourists rarely visit,
the vibe among the 1500 inhabitants is relaxed and welcoming, particularly if your visit co-
incides with the patron saint festivities (July 28-31), when you can join in the celebrations
marked by rowing races and various competitions.
Beyond the statue stands the primary school, where a wide main boulevard peels off left.
The streets are kept spick-and-span, as community regulations mean families are held re-
sponsible for disposing of rubbish on the mainland. Rules are equally strict about getting a
permit to leave the island, aimed at curbing what elders see to be the moral decline among
some of the younger members of the community. Squeezed between two public phone boxes,
the strangely whitened face of General Inatikuña, the community's first
saila
when the settle-
ment relocated from the mainland to the island in 1903, stares out across the street.
Excursions
are available to the unremarkable nearby beach on Ilestup (“Isle of the Eng-
lishman”, after a gent who lived there in the 1700s) and to the Río Yuandup Gandi, where
alligators laze on sandbanks and a rainbow of birds flit in and out of the foliage.
