Colonel John Nicholas Blashford-Snell CBE recounts more tales as part of his occasional series of articles for the New Blackmore Vale. John is a former British Army officer, explorer and author. He founded Operation Raleigh and the Scientific Exploration Society.

To celebrate the successful conclusion of an expedition we always hold a supper commemorating the birth of the Scots poet Robert Burns. It should be on 25 January, but we are not particular about the date!

This started when the Scientific Exploration Society’s Operation Drake was excavating the site of the Scots Colony in Caledonia Bay, Panama, in 1979. We had more than 50 young people in the team and flew in a consignment of fresh haggis from Scotland. J & B Whisky kindly provided a few cases of its splendid product and accompanied by Scots Guards Piper Robert Little we dined and ‘reeled’ beneath the tropical moon.
Towards midnight a Guardia gunboat sailed in and ran right onto a reef by our jetty. The crew, who it seemed had already dined well, were rescued safely and the party went on. Towards dawn, one of our visitors, an ugly little major rather the worse for wear, seized my spirited assistant and dragged her towards the bushes. Hearing her yell, I grabbed the wretch by his lapels and propelled him towards the sea. However, his pals intervened and apologised. Later I discovered his name – Manuel Antonio Noriega, later dictator of Panama. Had he drowned, future events in Panama might have been different.
Flying fresh haggis around the world was often difficult but luckily we met a kind haggis maker from Scotland named Ken Stahly, who now sends us supplies of the ‘wee beastie’ in tins.

Reeling with the Emberá in Panama

In 1998 in West Nepal our elephant mahouts loved the haggis and asked: “Where did you shoot this creature, Sir?”
Nearing the completion of the 4,000km reed boat voyage from the Andes to the Atlantic in 2001, our three-decker support vessel, nicknamed ‘El Viagra’, ran aground at the mouth of the Amazon. As the tide receded, ‘El Viagra’ began to list and, fearing she would topple over, we moved to the top deck. To boost morale we laid on an instant Burns supper. After a few drams no one noticed we had a 20 degree list! Fortunately, at dawn the tide reflated us.

In 2003, under the patronage of our friend, Sir Sean Connery, we had an archaeological quest on Panama’s Darien Coast. The local Embera people had helped us, so we asked their chief if we could hold our Burns supper in the circular Council House.
I explained that reeling would follow dinner. “My people love to dance, may I bring them,” he asked.
That night 200 Embera arrived, together with their girls in traditional saruma skirts, their upper bodies bare but painted with a black dye from the jaguar tree, said to attract a mate. A trio of our Scots lassies piped in the haggis and morsels of the ‘timorous beastie’ were passed around while the astonished local people listened to the ode and poems. Then came the reeling, with which they happily joined, and as the Gay Gordons blared out from the tape player, the Embera seized us as partners. I must confess that dancing with topless ladies is an interesting experience. “It’s not quite like this in Aberdeen,” commented one of the Scots in our party. I’m sure our patron, sadly absent, would have enjoyed it!

Dr Jo Rees ‘killing’ the haggis in Bolivia, November 2022

Autographed copies of John’s new book, From Utmost East to Utmost West, are available from the Scientific Exploration Society priced £19 including UK postage. Email jenny@ses-explore.org or phone 01747 854456 for details of how to order.