Isla San Francisco and Isla San Jose
This morning we offered kayaking, hiking, snorkeling and scuba-diving, all before noon. The protected waters of the bay of Isla San Francisco was most agreeable with everyone. On the previous night, we had encountered rough seas as we experienced the remains of a tropical disturbance that had now moved away from our area.
From the ship, we could see the turquoise waters on the other side of the bay. An even more breathtaking view could be seen from the crest of the hills in front of us. I gathered my divers once again and we back-rolled into the water from the Zodiac and slipped below the surface. The surface of the water clearly gave no indication of the activity evident below. Various fish of different sizes moved busily back and forth across the bottom as they all hurried to go somewhere.
Large triggerfish valiantly tried to fight off the ever scavenging attacks from the wrasses intent on devouring their eggs. The wedge-shaped heads of several panamic green moray eels peered at us from the safety of their shadowy lairs. Leopard groupers milled about in the upper water column possibly in search of an unsuspecting finny meal. Because we are air breathing mammals, we once more sadly returned to the reality of the world that we were accustomed to.
Sometime after lunch, we arrived at Isla San Jose. We had located an oasis within the desert; a bit of an anomaly, you could say – a salt water estuary with mangrove lined shores! What a sight to behold. The green spiky arms of the cardones peeked over the tops of the lush green leaves of the red, black and white mangroves. We got a close-up view at water level from our kayaks and Zodiacs. The water was so clear that we could easily see some of the inhabitants below. Upside-down jellyfish pulsed quickly as they lay on the bottom side by side. Balloonfish hovered at the surface while schools of pale-colored mullets picked through the soft sediments looking for crustaceans.
We ended our watersports with a bit of frolic from the stable platform of our ship. It would be no easy task to leave this place of such incredible beauty and diversity.
This morning we offered kayaking, hiking, snorkeling and scuba-diving, all before noon. The protected waters of the bay of Isla San Francisco was most agreeable with everyone. On the previous night, we had encountered rough seas as we experienced the remains of a tropical disturbance that had now moved away from our area.
From the ship, we could see the turquoise waters on the other side of the bay. An even more breathtaking view could be seen from the crest of the hills in front of us. I gathered my divers once again and we back-rolled into the water from the Zodiac and slipped below the surface. The surface of the water clearly gave no indication of the activity evident below. Various fish of different sizes moved busily back and forth across the bottom as they all hurried to go somewhere.
Large triggerfish valiantly tried to fight off the ever scavenging attacks from the wrasses intent on devouring their eggs. The wedge-shaped heads of several panamic green moray eels peered at us from the safety of their shadowy lairs. Leopard groupers milled about in the upper water column possibly in search of an unsuspecting finny meal. Because we are air breathing mammals, we once more sadly returned to the reality of the world that we were accustomed to.
Sometime after lunch, we arrived at Isla San Jose. We had located an oasis within the desert; a bit of an anomaly, you could say – a salt water estuary with mangrove lined shores! What a sight to behold. The green spiky arms of the cardones peeked over the tops of the lush green leaves of the red, black and white mangroves. We got a close-up view at water level from our kayaks and Zodiacs. The water was so clear that we could easily see some of the inhabitants below. Upside-down jellyfish pulsed quickly as they lay on the bottom side by side. Balloonfish hovered at the surface while schools of pale-colored mullets picked through the soft sediments looking for crustaceans.
We ended our watersports with a bit of frolic from the stable platform of our ship. It would be no easy task to leave this place of such incredible beauty and diversity.
