Crew: Estefania & Marcelino

Captain Estefania Gamarra arrived in Guna Yala in early 2012 after a year of backpacking across South America starting from her native Bolivia. She lived with a local guna family on Chichime island for 9 months. In that year she learned to speak the guna language and formed a deep bond with the family that hosted her, spending her days harvesting coconuts, cooking and sleeping on a hammock like the rest of them. During that time, she also worked on a sailboat to learn to sail. Mind-blown by the concept of being able to travel in your house like sailing allows, Stef bought her first small sailboat, Esperanza, and has sailed it across Guna Yala for the last 12 years. She's passionate about the guna culture and the belief system that has kept its people very connected to nature, and her mission during her trips now on her comfy Kaya catamaran is for her guests to connect with the place and the people she knows well, creating the conditions for guests to be transformed by this very special experience.  Stef speaks native English and Spanish, conversational French, Portuguese and Guna. She's traveled and lived all over the world but Guna Yala is the place she will always return to.

First Mate and Cook Marcelino is a local guna sailor who has been doing charter longer than anyone else around. As part of the old guard of guna sailors, he is the predecessor of many young guna captains, including his own son who he's bread as a sailor through and through.  Marcelino knows the guna waters like no other, so he'll take you to the best spots for snorkeling and fishing.  He's also a pro bringing out the best flavors of the local seafood in his well thought out dishes made with freshly caught fish and shellfish and locally bought fruits and vegetables.  Marcelino's gregarious personally enchants his guests and everyone leaves loving having had him as crew. He speaks native Guna and Spanish and understands English coupled with hand gestures better than anyone!