Bona and Otoque Islands
The sun had shown its first rays when the early wake up call was heard on the speakers. Already several of us were anxious to take a closer look at what was outside the Sea Voyager. As we anchored in front of Bona Island, magnificent frigatebirds, brown boobies, blue-footed boobies and brown pelicans seemed to be wishing us a good morning as they soared majestically over our heads.
Right after breakfast, the Zodiacs were ready to depart on wonderfully scenic cruises. Otoque and Bona have a lot to offer as they are located in the vastly productive Bay of Panama and, because of this special location, they are very important nesting places for pelicans, frigates and boobies. Among the trees we could see countless scarlet pouches vying for the attention of females flying overhead – the courtship displays of the male magnificent frigatebirds. Fluffy white brown booby chicks caught our attention as they popped their heads out of their nest to take a peak as we cruised by. A couple of peregrine falcons were upset and began to fight among themselves.
While some of us were on the Zodiacs, others back on the ship were getting ready to kayak along the coast of Bona. A few pantropical spotted dolphins swam close to the stern just to greet us. The warm tropical waters were beckoning, so after our activities we immersed ourselves off the Zodiacs and swam in the bay.
Right after lunch, we lifted anchor and started sailing. We had some 190 nautical miles to cover in order to get to Coiba Island, our next destination. On our way, a seemingly endless school of pantropical spotted dolphins escorted our ship. They delighted us for over an hour with their spectacular antics, riding our bow wave and wake and leaping clear out of the crystal blue ocean time and time again.
As the last rays of the sun disappeared below the horizon, we gathered in the lounge to share all the exciting things we had seen on this day. What will we see tomorrow? Common question among us, but the answer was: “Wait till we get there and you will see!”
The sun had shown its first rays when the early wake up call was heard on the speakers. Already several of us were anxious to take a closer look at what was outside the Sea Voyager. As we anchored in front of Bona Island, magnificent frigatebirds, brown boobies, blue-footed boobies and brown pelicans seemed to be wishing us a good morning as they soared majestically over our heads.
Right after breakfast, the Zodiacs were ready to depart on wonderfully scenic cruises. Otoque and Bona have a lot to offer as they are located in the vastly productive Bay of Panama and, because of this special location, they are very important nesting places for pelicans, frigates and boobies. Among the trees we could see countless scarlet pouches vying for the attention of females flying overhead – the courtship displays of the male magnificent frigatebirds. Fluffy white brown booby chicks caught our attention as they popped their heads out of their nest to take a peak as we cruised by. A couple of peregrine falcons were upset and began to fight among themselves.
While some of us were on the Zodiacs, others back on the ship were getting ready to kayak along the coast of Bona. A few pantropical spotted dolphins swam close to the stern just to greet us. The warm tropical waters were beckoning, so after our activities we immersed ourselves off the Zodiacs and swam in the bay.
Right after lunch, we lifted anchor and started sailing. We had some 190 nautical miles to cover in order to get to Coiba Island, our next destination. On our way, a seemingly endless school of pantropical spotted dolphins escorted our ship. They delighted us for over an hour with their spectacular antics, riding our bow wave and wake and leaping clear out of the crystal blue ocean time and time again.
As the last rays of the sun disappeared below the horizon, we gathered in the lounge to share all the exciting things we had seen on this day. What will we see tomorrow? Common question among us, but the answer was: “Wait till we get there and you will see!”
