Pearl Islands, Gulf of Panama
After cruising for a few hours out of the Panama Canal entrance, we moved to the south-eastern part of the Gulf to the famous Islas Perlas – The Pearl Islands. These islands got their name a long time ago when grand pearls were an everyday find. The famous “Peregrine” pearl now owned by Liz Taylor was harvested in this area, now-a-days, small pearls are still harvested but it’s not a big business. The big attraction now is the abundance of sea bird colonies.
This morning we woke up to the clear green color of the Pacific Ocean and the phenomenal rock formations of the Pacheca and Pachequita Islands. Two of the most spectacular islets of the archipelago, these two hold a large number of brown pelicans, magnificent frigate birds, blue-footed and brown boobies, one or two great egrets, American oystercatchers, bare-throated tiger herons and yellow crowned night herons. We took Zodiac cruises around both islands and were rewarded with great sightings making some of us amateur photographers take some really wonderful shots.
Back on board and as we cruised, we were lucky enough to encounter four Bryde’s whales and a humpback whale! A few dolphins and a fantastic sunset sent us towards our next destination: Coiba Island. We finished our day with a movie and pizza up in the lounge. What a way to start our following adventure.
After cruising for a few hours out of the Panama Canal entrance, we moved to the south-eastern part of the Gulf to the famous Islas Perlas – The Pearl Islands. These islands got their name a long time ago when grand pearls were an everyday find. The famous “Peregrine” pearl now owned by Liz Taylor was harvested in this area, now-a-days, small pearls are still harvested but it’s not a big business. The big attraction now is the abundance of sea bird colonies.
This morning we woke up to the clear green color of the Pacific Ocean and the phenomenal rock formations of the Pacheca and Pachequita Islands. Two of the most spectacular islets of the archipelago, these two hold a large number of brown pelicans, magnificent frigate birds, blue-footed and brown boobies, one or two great egrets, American oystercatchers, bare-throated tiger herons and yellow crowned night herons. We took Zodiac cruises around both islands and were rewarded with great sightings making some of us amateur photographers take some really wonderful shots.
Back on board and as we cruised, we were lucky enough to encounter four Bryde’s whales and a humpback whale! A few dolphins and a fantastic sunset sent us towards our next destination: Coiba Island. We finished our day with a movie and pizza up in the lounge. What a way to start our following adventure.
