While we definitely enjoy our time in San Blas during rainy season, it does come with its drawbacks. The good thing is that it’s not overcrowded during that time of year. Also, the rain isn’t too bad, there are many sunny days during rainy season as well. A more challenging aspect is definitely the thunderstorms. Panama seems to be the international capital of lightning and San Blas isn’t an exception. We did decide to stick to the Holandes Cays, which are the outer islands and see less lightning than closer to the coast, but still spent many nights at anchor not feeling comfortable and hoping not to get hit by lightning. Another interesting phenomenon we experienced in the rainy season were so called “culo de pollos” (=chicken butts). These are very sudden wind-gusts that come out of nowhere, last for 30-40 minutes and disappear again. We did see a few boats drag anchor during a culo, but luckily nothing happened. And with an active whatsapp group of the anchorage, we could stay in contact and inform and assist each other while it happened.
