Otoque, Estiva & Bona Islands in the Bay of Panama
This morning the cool trade winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean blew across the Isthmus and into the Bay of Panama. This made the waters on the surface recede and brought the cooler waters from the depths to the top. This phenomenon is known as upwelling. The cooler waters are richer in nutrients and therefore capable of sustaining large populations of fish which attract huge numbers of sea birds. For this reason before breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and went around these small islands and enjoyed watching frigate birds, brown pelicans, brown and blue-footed boobies as well as neotropical cormorants, yellow crowned night herons and white egrets in their constant struggle for survival of the fittest. Then we came back to the ship and went swimming from the stern.
Before lunch, we met in the lounge where we watched the documentary “A Man A Plan A Canal Panama” by David McCullough. This was a nice way to bring the experience of the transit of the canal to an end. Then we had lunch, followed by a siesta and a presentation by Taylor Edwards, our National Geographic turtle specialist.
The rest of the afternoon we spent sailing towards our next destination: Coiba Island.
This morning the cool trade winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean blew across the Isthmus and into the Bay of Panama. This made the waters on the surface recede and brought the cooler waters from the depths to the top. This phenomenon is known as upwelling. The cooler waters are richer in nutrients and therefore capable of sustaining large populations of fish which attract huge numbers of sea birds. For this reason before breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and went around these small islands and enjoyed watching frigate birds, brown pelicans, brown and blue-footed boobies as well as neotropical cormorants, yellow crowned night herons and white egrets in their constant struggle for survival of the fittest. Then we came back to the ship and went swimming from the stern.
Before lunch, we met in the lounge where we watched the documentary “A Man A Plan A Canal Panama” by David McCullough. This was a nice way to bring the experience of the transit of the canal to an end. Then we had lunch, followed by a siesta and a presentation by Taylor Edwards, our National Geographic turtle specialist.
The rest of the afternoon we spent sailing towards our next destination: Coiba Island.
