Granito de Oro, Coiba Island National Park, Panama
As the sun rose, we dropped anchor off Coiba Island, where the early birdwatchers went for a visit after a continental breakfast. The still fresh temperature allowed them to enjoy a successful birding outing. The crimson backed tanager, the yellow faced grassquit and the garden emerald found a special place on our list of birds.
Another short navigation took the Sea Voyager to Granito de Oro, where a wonderful snorkeling experience awaited us.
As we arrived to the little island it seemed as if we would not fit in the tiny patch of white sand. Soon the tide started to unveil a splendid and extensive area jealously patrolled by hermit crabs. Rainbow wrasses welcomed us to the reef and as we advanced into slightly deeper waters, we discovered gradually the different species of fish. The fanged blennies laid on the rocks and the hawkfish hid as soon as we got closer to the coral. The king angelfish and the Moorish idols brought the bright colors to the reef. We could hear how the parrotfish were working on producing more white sand as they took bites of the corals. The reef cornetfish was visiting a cleaning station and the white tipped reef shark occasionally checked the surroundings. The hawksbill sea turtle shyly approached some people in the water.
At noon we weighed anchor and soon we were on our way to the Bay of Panama. The calm seas allowed a successful marine life observation. Olive Ridley sea turtles, yellow bellied sea snakes, eagle rays, spotted and bottlenose dolphins were clearly seen in the afternoon. This was a great way to spend our first day in Panama.
As the sun rose, we dropped anchor off Coiba Island, where the early birdwatchers went for a visit after a continental breakfast. The still fresh temperature allowed them to enjoy a successful birding outing. The crimson backed tanager, the yellow faced grassquit and the garden emerald found a special place on our list of birds.
Another short navigation took the Sea Voyager to Granito de Oro, where a wonderful snorkeling experience awaited us.
As we arrived to the little island it seemed as if we would not fit in the tiny patch of white sand. Soon the tide started to unveil a splendid and extensive area jealously patrolled by hermit crabs. Rainbow wrasses welcomed us to the reef and as we advanced into slightly deeper waters, we discovered gradually the different species of fish. The fanged blennies laid on the rocks and the hawkfish hid as soon as we got closer to the coral. The king angelfish and the Moorish idols brought the bright colors to the reef. We could hear how the parrotfish were working on producing more white sand as they took bites of the corals. The reef cornetfish was visiting a cleaning station and the white tipped reef shark occasionally checked the surroundings. The hawksbill sea turtle shyly approached some people in the water.
At noon we weighed anchor and soon we were on our way to the Bay of Panama. The calm seas allowed a successful marine life observation. Olive Ridley sea turtles, yellow bellied sea snakes, eagle rays, spotted and bottlenose dolphins were clearly seen in the afternoon. This was a great way to spend our first day in Panama.
