Bona & Iguana Island
Early in the morning, National Geographic Sea Lion dropped anchor close to the shores of a small group of islands. As the sun began to rise, these islands known as Otoque, Bona and Estiva began to show us some of their great biodiversity. They are located in the bay of Panama. It’s here where the trade winds blow the warm surface water, allowing the cold water from the bottom to rise bringing a lot of nutrients to the surface.
We had the opportunity to explore the surroundings of Bona Island. One group went before breakfast, the other waited patiently to receive news from the first group. While we sail the Zodiacs close to the shore, we could see colonies of different seabirds. Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Boobies, Blue-footed boobies, Brown Pelicans and Neotropical Cormorant were easy to spot. They all knew that the upwelling zone would provide them with plenty of food. Some groups of Brown Boobies were already raising a chick while the masters of the air, the Frigatebirds, were stealing the materials collected by pelicans. It was just a great morning!
Back on board, we weighed anchor and sailed to our next destination, Iguana Island. Located at the right side of the Azuero peninsula, Iguana Island is declared a “Wildlife Refuge.” Its beaches are covered with white sands and a big troop of hermit crabs. We had the chance to get really close to the nesting place of Magnificent Frigatebirds. It was a great opportunity for pictures! Others preferred to snorkel close to the reefs. It was just a marvelous place to be, but as the sun began to set, we all had to return to National Geographic Sea Lion. We needed to sail for another 120 nautical miles in order to reach our next destination in paradise, Coiba Island National Park.
At Cocktail we all commented how great the day had begun and how it had ended. It was just another wonderful day of our trip.
