The wind in our faces and a huge amount of colors were the way to begin our day in the Pacific side of Panama. We were arriving to Coiba National Park… landscapes full of vegetation and crystal waters among white sand beaches. I think so everyone was impact by this natural scenery and of course we were ready to discover.
Kayak was the first option and the island of Canal de Afuera was the perfect spot. A bunch of hermit crabs were drawing shapes on the sand while they walk away from us, there were a lot of them! Some of the most attractive things of the Islands of Coiba were the rock formations; who tells the amazing volcanic activity that occurs millions of years ago before the Isthmus of Panama exist. The sounds of the waves and the little pieces of coral makes several people relax… others like us just took a kayak and wondered over the front side of the island finding great views if the coral, the waters were so calm and clear, it was like a liquid window.
After our morning, National Geographic Sea Lion weighed anchor and repositioned in another incredible area. A small Island known as “Granito de Oro”, which means “Little grain of gold”, was our afternoon destination. What a name for that spectacular place! This was the perfect place for snorkeling and nobody missed the chance to go in the water.
At the beach, small shorebirds were feeding among the wave range and it was quite a show when they took off. Granito de Oro is just a little bit example of the great biodiversity that you can enjoy about types of corals and fishes. Species such as spotted eagle rays, turtles and white tipped sharks were some of the highlights that we saw. The water was perfect, we got bit sunburnt but we enjoyed our time until the last minute. It was hard to leave, there were so many things to see but we needed to be on time for the next part of our adventure: the Panama Canal is waiting for us.
