Isla Coiba, Isla Granito de Oro, Isla Rancheria, Panama
What a day to be in the water!!! This morning the Sea Voyager entered Panamanian waters. The day was dedicated to the Pacific Ocean and all its denizens. We anchored off of Isla Granito de Oro in the midmorning, and everyone enjoyed excursions either to Granito or nearby Coiba, and Rancheria.
A few of walked on Isla Coiba in search of birds and reptiles, while the rest of us went snorkeling at Granito, or Scuba diving at Isla Rancheria. The exhilaration of being at play with the thousands of reef fish was only intensified by a visit with a Giant Manta Ray! It was estimated at being 10-12 feet from tip to tip, truly earning its status of giant.
Upon returning to the ship for lunch everyone shared stories of manta rays, pantropical spotted dolphins bow riding the Zodiacs, sergeant majors, zebra morays, Panamic green morays, jeweled morays, turtles, those “cute purple fish”, being “cleaned” by juvenile wrasses, and this whitetip reef shark! Getting its name from the white tips on its dorsal fins and upper lobe of its tail, the whitetip shark can get to be upwards of seven feet in length. This is a non-aggressive, nocturnal fish that spends the daylight hours in caves or under reef ledges. They feed on small fishes, crustaceans, and octopuses. This shark like most others gives birth live and can have litters of up to five babies.
The rest of the day was spent underway in search of turtles, marine mammals, and yellow-bellied sea snakes.
What a day to be in the water!!! This morning the Sea Voyager entered Panamanian waters. The day was dedicated to the Pacific Ocean and all its denizens. We anchored off of Isla Granito de Oro in the midmorning, and everyone enjoyed excursions either to Granito or nearby Coiba, and Rancheria.
A few of walked on Isla Coiba in search of birds and reptiles, while the rest of us went snorkeling at Granito, or Scuba diving at Isla Rancheria. The exhilaration of being at play with the thousands of reef fish was only intensified by a visit with a Giant Manta Ray! It was estimated at being 10-12 feet from tip to tip, truly earning its status of giant.
Upon returning to the ship for lunch everyone shared stories of manta rays, pantropical spotted dolphins bow riding the Zodiacs, sergeant majors, zebra morays, Panamic green morays, jeweled morays, turtles, those “cute purple fish”, being “cleaned” by juvenile wrasses, and this whitetip reef shark! Getting its name from the white tips on its dorsal fins and upper lobe of its tail, the whitetip shark can get to be upwards of seven feet in length. This is a non-aggressive, nocturnal fish that spends the daylight hours in caves or under reef ledges. They feed on small fishes, crustaceans, and octopuses. This shark like most others gives birth live and can have litters of up to five babies.
The rest of the day was spent underway in search of turtles, marine mammals, and yellow-bellied sea snakes.
