The Bay of Panama
When the sun rose over the horizon, we could see two small islands in the distance. These were to be our first port of call today: a couple of islets located within the ultra productive waters of the Bay of Panama. They are inhabited by hundreds of winged creatures, some of which escorted us from afar. Brown boobies flew around our ship whenever it was in motion, hoping to catch flying fish and other fish species scattered and forced to the surface by our passage.
Boobies have the most wonderfully streamlined bodies, and are completely adapted to their life styles as plunge divers. When in flight their feet are brought up close to their bodies so as to become invisible, however they will lower these and use them as rudders or brakes when needed, and we had ample opportunity to study the underside of these birds. Tapered bodies, reinforced skulls, air sacs and closed nostrils allow them to dive at speeds often exceeding 60mph: they really are the ultimate aerial hunters, as we could observe by the trails of bubbles left by their passage through the green waters.
Brown boobies have many neighbours in these lush tropical islets, including their cousins, the delightful blue-footed boobies, and their distant relatives the brown pelicans and magnificent frigatebirds. The latter were really living up to their name this morning, as we observed magnificent black birds with enormous pouches of red inflated to attract the females soaring overhead. We also caught a glimpse of an oddity that has been fascinating the naturalists on board for the past few weeks: the presence in the colony of a pure white albino frigate – a first for us all!
The rich food chain that attracts all these sea birds to the area drew a lot more than that today. As we were approaching the islets and having breakfast, Captain Luis Alcocer’s voice came over the loudspeaker: “All guests and staff! Whales ahead!” We all rushed out on deck and were rewarded with the sight of four or five Bryde’s whales, medium-sized baleen whales, surfacing all around us. After having watched them for a while from our decks, the crew lowered our Zodiacs and we rode out to see them closer up, as pantropical spotted dolphins leapt around us and rode the bow waves of the Zodiacs – a truly exhilarating experience.
Once back on board, we took kayaks or did some snorkeling along the coast, before returning for lunch and taking off towards the Panama Canal. We were greeted by spectacular views of the skyline of the impressive Panama City and the Bridge of the Americas, after which we brought this wonderful day to an end with sunset cocktails on the sky deck as we began our transit through the first half of the famous canal.
When the sun rose over the horizon, we could see two small islands in the distance. These were to be our first port of call today: a couple of islets located within the ultra productive waters of the Bay of Panama. They are inhabited by hundreds of winged creatures, some of which escorted us from afar. Brown boobies flew around our ship whenever it was in motion, hoping to catch flying fish and other fish species scattered and forced to the surface by our passage.
Boobies have the most wonderfully streamlined bodies, and are completely adapted to their life styles as plunge divers. When in flight their feet are brought up close to their bodies so as to become invisible, however they will lower these and use them as rudders or brakes when needed, and we had ample opportunity to study the underside of these birds. Tapered bodies, reinforced skulls, air sacs and closed nostrils allow them to dive at speeds often exceeding 60mph: they really are the ultimate aerial hunters, as we could observe by the trails of bubbles left by their passage through the green waters.
Brown boobies have many neighbours in these lush tropical islets, including their cousins, the delightful blue-footed boobies, and their distant relatives the brown pelicans and magnificent frigatebirds. The latter were really living up to their name this morning, as we observed magnificent black birds with enormous pouches of red inflated to attract the females soaring overhead. We also caught a glimpse of an oddity that has been fascinating the naturalists on board for the past few weeks: the presence in the colony of a pure white albino frigate – a first for us all!
The rich food chain that attracts all these sea birds to the area drew a lot more than that today. As we were approaching the islets and having breakfast, Captain Luis Alcocer’s voice came over the loudspeaker: “All guests and staff! Whales ahead!” We all rushed out on deck and were rewarded with the sight of four or five Bryde’s whales, medium-sized baleen whales, surfacing all around us. After having watched them for a while from our decks, the crew lowered our Zodiacs and we rode out to see them closer up, as pantropical spotted dolphins leapt around us and rode the bow waves of the Zodiacs – a truly exhilarating experience.
Once back on board, we took kayaks or did some snorkeling along the coast, before returning for lunch and taking off towards the Panama Canal. We were greeted by spectacular views of the skyline of the impressive Panama City and the Bridge of the Americas, after which we brought this wonderful day to an end with sunset cocktails on the sky deck as we began our transit through the first half of the famous canal.
