Bona & Otoque Islands, Gulf of Panama
After an incredible crossing through the Panama Canal we started making our way up north to Costa Rica. However, Panama has a lot more to offer besides the Canal. This morning, sailing across the Panama Gulf - which is a stunning place for marine life thanks to its incredible seasonally rich waters – we particularly noticed the large number of seabirds.
This Gulf has what is known as an upwelling, which is triggered by the trade winds. They are strong winds that blow from north to south and east to west; the same winds that blew Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic to “discover” the new world. Trade winds blow all year in this part of the world. In fact, they are the reason for the lush evergreen tropical rain forest on the Caribbean side of Central America and its amount of moisture. These winds are strong enough to blow across the entire isthmus.
Today we took advantage of this phenomenon and went on Zodiac cruises to see the bird colonies. We all got great views of brown boobies, brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds in full display of nesting season. In the afternoon back on the Sea Voyager we were joined by a pod of dolphins that escorted our ship for a few minutes while they played on the waves.
After an incredible crossing through the Panama Canal we started making our way up north to Costa Rica. However, Panama has a lot more to offer besides the Canal. This morning, sailing across the Panama Gulf - which is a stunning place for marine life thanks to its incredible seasonally rich waters – we particularly noticed the large number of seabirds.
This Gulf has what is known as an upwelling, which is triggered by the trade winds. They are strong winds that blow from north to south and east to west; the same winds that blew Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic to “discover” the new world. Trade winds blow all year in this part of the world. In fact, they are the reason for the lush evergreen tropical rain forest on the Caribbean side of Central America and its amount of moisture. These winds are strong enough to blow across the entire isthmus.
Today we took advantage of this phenomenon and went on Zodiac cruises to see the bird colonies. We all got great views of brown boobies, brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds in full display of nesting season. In the afternoon back on the Sea Voyager we were joined by a pod of dolphins that escorted our ship for a few minutes while they played on the waves.
