An amazing day at Coiba National Park started in the early morning with the great sighting of a pod of pantropical spotted dolphins that were swimming next to and in front of the ship. With their wonderful leaps and amusing behavior they led our way to the first stop of the day, the beautiful island of Granito de Oro.
Everyone on board National Geographic Sea Lion had a great interest in exploring this spectacular island, so we started the disembarkation to Granito de Oro. The exploration of this reef around the island just took our breath away. This little island is one of the best places for snorkeling, and there were myriad fish everywhere, with great sightings of moorish idols, king angelfish, bicolor parrotfish, giant damselfish, white-tipped sharks, hawksbill turtle, and green sea turtle among others species of sea life.
After we returned from Granito de Oro and lunch we repositioned to take a Zodiac cruise through the mangroves of Boca Grande River. This was our first visit for National Geographic Sea Lion, and it was the perfect opportunity to have great encounters with some other species of animals, like the always-spectacular king vulture, ruddy turnstone, osprey, little blue herons, whimbrels, willets, short-billed dowitchers, and the mantled howler monkey from Coiba.
The end of the day had a beautiful sunset that inked our blue skies into orange, and our National Geographic photographer and photo instructors did not waste their chance to capture these images that enchanted our eyes with so much beauty. It was a perfect day, we all agreed.
