Coiba Island
We started our adventure in the Caribbean port of Cristobal, Panama, and after a fascinating transit of the famous canal, found ourselves in the rich Pacific waters that bathe this southernmost of Central American countries. This richness was manifested everywhere by the hundreds of seabirds of several species, spotted dolphins and various feeding frenzies we witnessed as we traveled northwards en route to Costa Rica.
Our last day in Panama was spent visiting the largest island this country possesses, Coiba Island, past the large Azuero Peninsula in the Gulf of Chiriqui. We visited a different part of this island this week, new to many of our staff members as well as our guests, and what a great surprise was in store for us. The early morning was spent exploring a mangrove-lined estuary named “Boca Grande” by Zodiac, where we were overjoyed to see many bird species, including several king vultures, iguanas, howler monkeys (apparently a sub-species endemic to this area) and more.
This southeastern corner of Coiba is also home to the largest stretch of coral reef in the eastern Pacific – a truly spectacular reef by these standards. In general there are but poorly developed coral reefs in the eastern Pacific if compared to the Caribbean, due to the nutrient-rich, often cool and relatively turbid waters. The coral diversity is also lower, there being but three or four dominant genera here, but the reef still serves its function as shelter and home to myriad colorful fish species. Though the skies were gray and threatening rain, we immersed ourselves in the lovely warm waters, and the crystalline clear conditions allowed us spectacular views of the marine fauna of the Eastern Pacific. Innumerable schools of snapper, goatfish, surgeonfish, soldierfish, butterfly fish and many more swirled around us as we dived down to get closer looks amongst the coral heads. As Undersea Specialist I got to use some of the wonderful tools we have on board to enhance everyone’s experience of the underwater world: today I took down our digital video camera with its underwater housing and got some great footage. We could thus all relive our experience tonight at recap, and work on identifying many of the species we encountered as well as share it all with our non-snorkeling travel companions.
We started our adventure in the Caribbean port of Cristobal, Panama, and after a fascinating transit of the famous canal, found ourselves in the rich Pacific waters that bathe this southernmost of Central American countries. This richness was manifested everywhere by the hundreds of seabirds of several species, spotted dolphins and various feeding frenzies we witnessed as we traveled northwards en route to Costa Rica.
Our last day in Panama was spent visiting the largest island this country possesses, Coiba Island, past the large Azuero Peninsula in the Gulf of Chiriqui. We visited a different part of this island this week, new to many of our staff members as well as our guests, and what a great surprise was in store for us. The early morning was spent exploring a mangrove-lined estuary named “Boca Grande” by Zodiac, where we were overjoyed to see many bird species, including several king vultures, iguanas, howler monkeys (apparently a sub-species endemic to this area) and more.
This southeastern corner of Coiba is also home to the largest stretch of coral reef in the eastern Pacific – a truly spectacular reef by these standards. In general there are but poorly developed coral reefs in the eastern Pacific if compared to the Caribbean, due to the nutrient-rich, often cool and relatively turbid waters. The coral diversity is also lower, there being but three or four dominant genera here, but the reef still serves its function as shelter and home to myriad colorful fish species. Though the skies were gray and threatening rain, we immersed ourselves in the lovely warm waters, and the crystalline clear conditions allowed us spectacular views of the marine fauna of the Eastern Pacific. Innumerable schools of snapper, goatfish, surgeonfish, soldierfish, butterfly fish and many more swirled around us as we dived down to get closer looks amongst the coral heads. As Undersea Specialist I got to use some of the wonderful tools we have on board to enhance everyone’s experience of the underwater world: today I took down our digital video camera with its underwater housing and got some great footage. We could thus all relive our experience tonight at recap, and work on identifying many of the species we encountered as well as share it all with our non-snorkeling travel companions.
