We woke to a delightful sunrise. Amazing way to greet the day!  Banedup is our next destination, which is part of the Eastern Lemon Cays.

Sunrise in the San Blas Islands.

Our last stop with Wayne is the Eastern Lemon Cays. There are well over a dozen islands that make up this set of islands. This is one of the most popular anchorages so there were a lot of boats already here, jockeying for the best anchor spot. The crowds takes away from the idyllic state, but not much you can do if you want to see these islands. We anchored near Banedup which is inhabited island that looks like 3 separate islands as they are joined together by sand bars that bridge two of the 3 islands together.

1 of 3 islands that are called Banedup.

Banedup was calling us, so after we swam on the anchor, enjoyed seeing another beautiful spotted eagle ray, we went to check it out up close and personal. This middle island has a make shift bar with several local Kuna selling molas, jewelry, and shells.

Dock at Banedup’s second island.

The island does have actual bathrooms with doors, but this is a standard bathroom on the San Blas islands:

Fun images of the Banedup:

Beautiful resting spot under a shady palm tree.

Local decoration – alligator skull.

Wayne standing on a sand bar that connects the Banedup islands.

After a few beers, we decided to mosey over to the third island which had an actual structure for their bar. As we pulled up, we were greeted by some friends Toby and Sam on “Sweet Chariot” (we met them in Santa Marta). We scored by getting to the veggie boat before they went around to the cruisers! We purchased 20 small potatoes, a large papaya, 6 oranges, 6 limes, 1 cucumber, 1 pineapple for $9.50.

Veggie boat: brings fresh fruit and veggies to the cruisers and islanders.

Everyone has their version of an iPhone

Would you trade your iPhone for this island phone?

It was great catching up and sharing stories with our friends.

Wayne, Toby, Sam, Matt and I at Banedup, Eastern Lemon Cays.

Fishing with a net for dinner.

Local panga driver, 2 sheets to the wind….

Local Kuna ladies on Banedup.