Gulf of Panama, Panama
We woke up inside the Gulf of Panama, anchored just out of the islands of Otoque and Bona. This area is known as one of the best places for fishing in the Gulf; nutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton, and zooplankton are abundant in the Eastern Pacific. The sea water is influenced by a seasonal upwelling that also makes it more turbid, less salty and cooler. The conditions are amplified in the dry season of Panama because of the upwelling. These kinds of conditions can support large quantities of sea life, and this in return can support large colonies of seabirds like the Magnificent Frigate, brown and blue footed boobies.
On board Zodiacs we explored the shores of an island within this Gulf: Bona. We were all rewarded by sights of enormous amounts of sea birds, even the elusive blue-footed booby was found in good numbers. Naturalists had the opportunity to share their passion for the natural history of these fascinating creatures.
In the afternoon we repositioned west to a little island named Iguana, on the coast of the Peninsula of Azuero. We were able to get a closer look of a rookery of Magnificent Frigates, but also had the opportunity to explore the waters of this beautiful white sand beach and a small reef showing scars of past El Niño sea warming events. Sights of a sea turtle, beautiful fish like the bicolor parrot fish, the guinea fowl puffer and more gave a beautiful closure to the day of exploration.
Back on the Sea Voyager we enjoyed recap, dinner and a discussion on the expansion of the Panama Canal. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to explore the waters of the Panamanian Pacific, as we visit what is actually the second largest coral reef in the Eastern Pacific.
We woke up inside the Gulf of Panama, anchored just out of the islands of Otoque and Bona. This area is known as one of the best places for fishing in the Gulf; nutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton, and zooplankton are abundant in the Eastern Pacific. The sea water is influenced by a seasonal upwelling that also makes it more turbid, less salty and cooler. The conditions are amplified in the dry season of Panama because of the upwelling. These kinds of conditions can support large quantities of sea life, and this in return can support large colonies of seabirds like the Magnificent Frigate, brown and blue footed boobies.
On board Zodiacs we explored the shores of an island within this Gulf: Bona. We were all rewarded by sights of enormous amounts of sea birds, even the elusive blue-footed booby was found in good numbers. Naturalists had the opportunity to share their passion for the natural history of these fascinating creatures.
In the afternoon we repositioned west to a little island named Iguana, on the coast of the Peninsula of Azuero. We were able to get a closer look of a rookery of Magnificent Frigates, but also had the opportunity to explore the waters of this beautiful white sand beach and a small reef showing scars of past El Niño sea warming events. Sights of a sea turtle, beautiful fish like the bicolor parrot fish, the guinea fowl puffer and more gave a beautiful closure to the day of exploration.
Back on the Sea Voyager we enjoyed recap, dinner and a discussion on the expansion of the Panama Canal. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to explore the waters of the Panamanian Pacific, as we visit what is actually the second largest coral reef in the Eastern Pacific.
