Our day started with a gentle breeze and a mixed flocks of marine birds escorting our ship to our anchorage spot near a small group of island in the Gulf of Panama known for the extraordinary diversity of marine birds. Otoque and Bona Island offers a pristine nesting site mainly for brown pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds, blue-footed and brown boobies. We enjoyed a morning outing in our Zodiacs from where we observed these magnificent birds and their interesting behavior. Nesting rituals, fluffy chicks, red gular pouches, and kleptoparasitism behavior, definitively were the morning exciting natures displays.
In the afternoon we repositioned to the Bay of Panama where we had our appointment with the Panama Canal Transit. From the anchorage area and before our transit began, we enjoyed a privileged view of the modern city of Panama and its unexpected skyline. Finally, we started our transit in the early evening with the arrival of the Canal Pilot, followed by the up lockage in Miraflores Locks, Pedro Miguel Locks, and the always fascinating Gaillard cut.
The fun will continue tomorrow, in the Panama Canal.
