We’ve been remiss not getting this post up since we got back from Christmas Break… We discovered possibly the most idyllic place we’ve ever been – Franklin’s Island, Panama in the San Blas Archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. Deeply shaded by palms, fringed with white sand, surrounded by crystal clear waters, and with only 15 people total on the whole island, it was almost comically perfect.
We spent three days and nights with no shoes, just laying around in hammocks and padding around on the water’s edge.
Franklin and his staff called us to meals by blowing a conch shell. No electricity, no running water (bucket baths), just a sand floor in a bamboo hut, and three squares – all for $17.50 per person per night.
The slide show should give you a pretty good feel for the place, but nothing’s like being there (for best effect, click on the show to link to a slightly larger version at slide.com). Although we try not to go anywhere twice, we’re seriously considering a return visit on our way back to the States this summer.
I enjoyed my conversations with the guy who runs this place, Elixto Franklin. A Kuna Indian (the Kuna own this whole semi-autonomous region), he received this responsibility almost a year ago and found the place a shambles. He’s done a lot to improve the place, Cabañas Tubasenika (but called Franklin’s Island by everyone who stays there). His place has no website or any other publicity, so I want to pass along his cell phone number: (country code 507) 6540-5478. We wish him all the best.
