Isla Coiba & Granito de Oro
Sunrise was beautiful as we approached our anchorage off Coiba Island. Coiba is one of Panama’s largest national parks and includes several islands. Until recently, Coiba was used as a penal colony. As a result, the dry tropical forest on the island remains quite pristine.
After breakfast, we took Zodiacs to the beach and began our activities. Some took kayaks out to explore the shoreline. Others went with our naturalists looking for birds, and some of us donned our snorkeling gear to investigate the world underneath the sea. Diving into the waters of the Pacific was a real treat as the water temperature was so warm that it felt like a bathtub!
Our next activity was enjoying a tasty BBQ lunch under the shade of the swaying palm trees. We were fortunate to have a nice breeze and there was a lot of lively conversation.
After lunch we repositioned the ship to a gorgeous little island known as Granito de Oro.
The sandy beach was covered with hermit crabs scurrying this way and that. The snorkeling was wonderful and we saw many fish including eels, cornet fish, bi-colored parrotfish, white tipped reef sharks, butterfly fish, and Guinea fowl puffer fish.
Back on board the National Geographic Sea Lion we spotted pantropical spotted dolphins riding our bow. Two of our naturalists dove with underwater cameras. They showed their pictures at recap and we learned not only names but also interesting facts about the fish we had seen.
Our last day in Panama was “as good as it gets”!
