After sailing out of the Gulf of Panama, sunrise found the National Geographic Sea Lion at the paradise-like island of Granito de Oro in front of Coiba, an old prison transformed into a National Park of Panama. The first outing of the day was during the morning, when our guests had the chance to explore this jewel of Panama’s territory.
Some decided to go sea kayaking around the island of Granito, while others just relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous white sand beach or went snorkeling at the second-largest coral reef in the eastern Pacific. The excitement came when people returned from the water and reported sightings of puffer fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, and parrot fish, as well as a hawksbill sea turtle and a white-tipped reef shark, just to mention a few of the various species seen near the reef.
After our morning excursion, we returned to the Sea Lion, which was quickly repositioned to enjoy a delicious picnic by the beach. After enjoying this nice initiative of the galley crew, there was time to go back in the water for another snorkeling opportunity, go for a swim, or take a walk to explore the surroundings. This activity offered the opportunity to see birds, including the colorful crimson-backed tanager, red-legged honeycreeper, streaked flycatcher, and others. The reptiles showed up as well: a crocodile (one of the most territorial reptiles), a Jesus Christ lizard (or common basilisk), and a black iguana.
Then we returned to the Sea Lion to continue our expedition to Costa Rica. We had a great day exploring the world of sea, sky and land creatures in our farewell to Panama.
We ended our day observing the local mammals, such as the Coiba agouti and a white-throated capuchin monkey. The island is quite far from the mainland, and this is reflected in the evolution of some species, resulting in new endemic species unique to Coiba.
