How often do you go to bed in a country and wake up in another one? After leaving Costa Rica yesterday night, sunrise caught us waking up in a jewel of Panama, Coiba National Park.
History and nature united in one place, Coiba was a prison until the end of the 20th century, keeping the area secluded and pristine for decades. Today we are privileged to be able to visit the second largest coral reef formation on the eastern Pacific.
Granito de Oro, our morning destination, is a clear color water islet with a beach surrounded by a beautiful reef in which we experienced a close up to the Blue Planet.
Bicolored parrot fish, Cortez rainbow wrasse, Moorish idols, king angel fish, Panamic sergeant majors, Guinea fowl puffer fish, white tip reef shark as well as hawksbill marine sea turtles were some of our hosts while swimming. The variety and type of species seen during our snorkeling outing reflect the quality and health of the visited site.
But that was not all; the opportunity to exercise was there for the most adventurous. While some people took the chance to hike at El Mono trail, paddle boards and kayaks were taken by some of our guests who enjoyed the flat warm waters of the archipelago. Then we returned to the National Geographic Sea Lion, and Eva, our hotel manager arranged a cultural experience with Henry, one of our Costa Rican expedition landing craft drivers. Henry is an expert opening up coconuts as it is done in our coastal communities, while our bartender Lynn was ready to mix them and prepare some tropical drinks followed by our delicious lunch.
Our journey continued down to Cébaco Island, an exploration of a destination that became a target as an option to go beyond people’s expectations… and we certainly did!
Our exploration was an absolute success! Turquoise color waters and a white sand beach were our place of relaxation. Swimming was the main activity, as well as walking down the beach to discover landscapes around the corners while some other guests decided to go explore the island by expedition landing crafts and guess what? Nesting brown pelicans, a yellow crowned night heron, whimbrel and American oystercatchers were some of the birds that filled our list of creatures seen today.
Our day finished with a nice recap session, in which we could live again the morning experience by watching the underwater footage taken by our expedition leader Gustavo Abarca.
After this spectacular day, we could get a good night of sleep.
