The San Blas archipelago sits off Panama's Caribbean coast and falls entirely within the autonomous territory of Guna Yala, governed by the Guna people under rights recognized by the Panamanian state. The Guna have maintained their cultural independence for generations, and their territory remains one of the few places in the Caribbean where Indigenous governance has remained continuous and legally protected. The islands' isolation has helped preserve both the culture and the surrounding marine environment, keeping the shallows unusually clear and the seafloor remarkably undisturbed.

The light in these shallows is most extraordinary between late morning and early afternoon, when the sun is high enough to reach straight through the water and illuminate the sand below.