Otoque, Bona Estiva and Iguana Islands
We woke up this morning inside the Gulf of Panama, anchored in front of Otoque Island. We couldn’t wait to go out and explore these three small islands and their magnificent nesting sites! We had early Zodiac rides to make the most of our day, the fist one at 0630 am and the second one at 0800 am. We got to see hundreds of nesting frigatebirds and brown pelicans up in the trees, while brown boobies and blue-footed boobies used the small spaces on the cliffs of the island. Besides the birds, we also saw some stingrays gliding just beneath the surface of the ocean and some proud local fisherman in his dugout canoe that showed us his big yellow snapper as we made our way back to the Sea Voyager.
After sailing for about 6 hours, we reached Iguana Island Wild Life Refuge, (created in 1961) and went on a short hike to take a close look at the nesting frigate birds. Many of the males were displaying their beautiful red throat pouch to attract females and others were just trying to steal nesting material to build their own (not that there is a lack of it on the island). After the short walk, some went snorkeling and were able to see a hawksbill turtle, puffer fish, king angelfish and many more.
We ended a fantastic outing with the recaps by the naturalists on board. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!
We woke up this morning inside the Gulf of Panama, anchored in front of Otoque Island. We couldn’t wait to go out and explore these three small islands and their magnificent nesting sites! We had early Zodiac rides to make the most of our day, the fist one at 0630 am and the second one at 0800 am. We got to see hundreds of nesting frigatebirds and brown pelicans up in the trees, while brown boobies and blue-footed boobies used the small spaces on the cliffs of the island. Besides the birds, we also saw some stingrays gliding just beneath the surface of the ocean and some proud local fisherman in his dugout canoe that showed us his big yellow snapper as we made our way back to the Sea Voyager.
After sailing for about 6 hours, we reached Iguana Island Wild Life Refuge, (created in 1961) and went on a short hike to take a close look at the nesting frigate birds. Many of the males were displaying their beautiful red throat pouch to attract females and others were just trying to steal nesting material to build their own (not that there is a lack of it on the island). After the short walk, some went snorkeling and were able to see a hawksbill turtle, puffer fish, king angelfish and many more.
We ended a fantastic outing with the recaps by the naturalists on board. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!
