Coiba Marine National Park - Veraguas, Panama
We dropped anchor early this morning in one of the world’s largest marine national parks. The first of our three island visits was Rancheria for an early bird watching and beach walk. This island was at one time owned by the private pilot of the Shah of Iran, who was exiled in Panama. Nowadays, it is owned by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
The rains arrived and our next stop seemed at the time like it was not going to be a success. We repositioned to our smallest and most picturesque island, Granito de Oro, where snorkeling was our mission. Though the rains persisted, we landed at the tiny beach, made our way into the water and to our surprise, the snorkeling was a true success! Great visibility and calm waters yielded such tropical beauties as angelfish, parrotfish, wrasse and damselfish.
We ended our day with a special event. The ship arranged a wonderful beach barbeque at the park’s ranger station. Birding, snorkeling, kayaking and collecting shells in order to photograph them were the call of the afternoon. And just when we thought we had enough activity, the ship’s crew played their hearts out in a soccer match. This was a memorable last day in Panama. We departed for the natural wonders of Costa Rica.
We dropped anchor early this morning in one of the world’s largest marine national parks. The first of our three island visits was Rancheria for an early bird watching and beach walk. This island was at one time owned by the private pilot of the Shah of Iran, who was exiled in Panama. Nowadays, it is owned by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
The rains arrived and our next stop seemed at the time like it was not going to be a success. We repositioned to our smallest and most picturesque island, Granito de Oro, where snorkeling was our mission. Though the rains persisted, we landed at the tiny beach, made our way into the water and to our surprise, the snorkeling was a true success! Great visibility and calm waters yielded such tropical beauties as angelfish, parrotfish, wrasse and damselfish.
We ended our day with a special event. The ship arranged a wonderful beach barbeque at the park’s ranger station. Birding, snorkeling, kayaking and collecting shells in order to photograph them were the call of the afternoon. And just when we thought we had enough activity, the ship’s crew played their hearts out in a soccer match. This was a memorable last day in Panama. We departed for the natural wonders of Costa Rica.
