Bona, Otoque & Iguana Islands

This was our first morning on the Pacific side after a very calm night’s sleep. We woke up today inside the Gulf of Panama, anchored in the middle of Otoque, Bona and Estiva Island. These three islets are only 25 miles off of the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. We took our Zodiacs to explore the area.

The water here is not very clear and the temperatures are cooler than average. This is due to a low pass in the chain of mountains that run parallel to the western side of Panama. This valley allows the trade winds to blow over the continental divide, pushing surface water away. The cooler waters from below upwell and replace the warmer ones, transporting nutrients to the surface.

Several hundred brown and blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigate birds and brown pelicans, flying in an almost perfect symphony, were spotted around the islands. Some birds were nesting while others were looking for food. Later in the day, our Captain repositioned the Sea Voyager towards the southern part of the isthmus until we reached Iguana Island Wildlife Preserve. All the while, we continued to look for marine life. Some of us were lucky enough to spot pan-tropical spotted dolphin.

Iguana Island provided us the opportunity to snorkel before we reached Granito de Oro Island. We not only swam, but had the opportunity to take a quick hike across the island and explore the beach while the sun went down. With white sand and dark rocks, hermit crabs and a magnificent frigate bird haven we had the perfect ending to an overall fantastic day. Afterwards, we navigated down around Peninsula de Azuero to our next destination, Coiba National Park.