Coiba Island and Coastal Panama
After yesterday’s events there were a few people who awoke asking “What are we going to do to top yesterday.” By the end of the day we all knew what it was that at least matched the previous exciting events. Early in the morning we anchored off the northern end of Coiba Island, one of Panama’s newest national parks and one of the more interesting. This huge island has some unusual flora and fauna which some of us had a chance to see on an early morning walk. The trail looped through the dense forest where we learned about the uniqueness of the island and the associated natural history. While on the trail others in the group went directly into the water from a small sandy islet called Granito de Oro. At first the water was a little choppy from a light wind blowing but a rocky outcrop provided some protected waters. Snorkelers discovered a wide variety of fish. By mid-afternoon the walkers had returned to the ship and then came to the beach. Through the late morning the wind dropped and the waters calmed making for excellent snorkeling. As the lunch announcement was made we were underway to the day’s finale’.
While cruising along many people sat outside watching for wildlife or just enjoying a book or time to contemplate experiences they had over the last few days. A number of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles were spotted as they floated at the surface. Toward the latter part of the afternoon when the sun was lower in the sky we approached the end of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula. During the afternoon we had had a number of sightings of a few dolphins but then Carlos Chacon, a sharp-eyed staff naturalist spotted a large group of dolphins in the distance so Captain Jorge changed course to investigate. As we approached the school of dolphins some leapt out of the water at least 10 ft. into the air. Many of these Pantropical Spotted Dolphins came over to the ship to ride on the bow wake or to surf in the wake behind the ship. The Captain turned the ship in a large circle so we could enjoy the dolphins swimming and jumping. Onboard people shifted from one side to the other, in front of the bridge, and to the bow to look over the edge and see the animals cruising below the hull of the ship. Again Carlos said he had spotted some other groups of dolphins in the distance so we decide to continue on to see what they were. The next group of animals was a different species. This time we found a huge congregation of Pacific Common Dolphins. They too seemed to enjoy our presence and we certainly enjoyed their “porpoising” out of the water. At one point a couple hundred had decided to all take off in a rapid rush in one direction.
Then the announcement was made that some thing else had been spotted by Carlos. Just beyond the dolphins. This was the encore. We soon observed and watched with amazement a group of Pilot Whales surface all around the ship. The lighting was spectacular with the orange of the setting sun changing the color of the water’s surface and these large black animals breaking the surface just next to the ship. Then some of the staff put lowered a hydrophone over the bow. To our amazement over the background hum of the ship’s engines we could hear the bird-like whistles and screeches of the Pilot Whales. Almost until it was too dark to see, we watched these fascinating animals surfacing and calling as they dove in water over 2000 ft. deep. What a day. Can there be anything that will even come close to the experiences of these last two days?
After yesterday’s events there were a few people who awoke asking “What are we going to do to top yesterday.” By the end of the day we all knew what it was that at least matched the previous exciting events. Early in the morning we anchored off the northern end of Coiba Island, one of Panama’s newest national parks and one of the more interesting. This huge island has some unusual flora and fauna which some of us had a chance to see on an early morning walk. The trail looped through the dense forest where we learned about the uniqueness of the island and the associated natural history. While on the trail others in the group went directly into the water from a small sandy islet called Granito de Oro. At first the water was a little choppy from a light wind blowing but a rocky outcrop provided some protected waters. Snorkelers discovered a wide variety of fish. By mid-afternoon the walkers had returned to the ship and then came to the beach. Through the late morning the wind dropped and the waters calmed making for excellent snorkeling. As the lunch announcement was made we were underway to the day’s finale’.
While cruising along many people sat outside watching for wildlife or just enjoying a book or time to contemplate experiences they had over the last few days. A number of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles were spotted as they floated at the surface. Toward the latter part of the afternoon when the sun was lower in the sky we approached the end of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula. During the afternoon we had had a number of sightings of a few dolphins but then Carlos Chacon, a sharp-eyed staff naturalist spotted a large group of dolphins in the distance so Captain Jorge changed course to investigate. As we approached the school of dolphins some leapt out of the water at least 10 ft. into the air. Many of these Pantropical Spotted Dolphins came over to the ship to ride on the bow wake or to surf in the wake behind the ship. The Captain turned the ship in a large circle so we could enjoy the dolphins swimming and jumping. Onboard people shifted from one side to the other, in front of the bridge, and to the bow to look over the edge and see the animals cruising below the hull of the ship. Again Carlos said he had spotted some other groups of dolphins in the distance so we decide to continue on to see what they were. The next group of animals was a different species. This time we found a huge congregation of Pacific Common Dolphins. They too seemed to enjoy our presence and we certainly enjoyed their “porpoising” out of the water. At one point a couple hundred had decided to all take off in a rapid rush in one direction.
Then the announcement was made that some thing else had been spotted by Carlos. Just beyond the dolphins. This was the encore. We soon observed and watched with amazement a group of Pilot Whales surface all around the ship. The lighting was spectacular with the orange of the setting sun changing the color of the water’s surface and these large black animals breaking the surface just next to the ship. Then some of the staff put lowered a hydrophone over the bow. To our amazement over the background hum of the ship’s engines we could hear the bird-like whistles and screeches of the Pilot Whales. Almost until it was too dark to see, we watched these fascinating animals surfacing and calling as they dove in water over 2000 ft. deep. What a day. Can there be anything that will even come close to the experiences of these last two days?
