Isla Coiba National Park & Granito de Oro
Our divine day in Panama started with the glowing moon setting over the water as we witnessed a splendid sunrise at 6:39am. National Geographic Sea Lion settled into her spot by the picturesque island of Granito de Oro in the Isla Coiba National Park. Panama is home to the third largest marine park in the world; only the Great Barrier Reef Park and Galápagos National Park are larger.
Our escapades on shore started by gathering up all of our snorkel, photography, and beach gear and filling up the zodiacs to shuttle to the pristine white sandy coastline. Once on shore people scattered in all directions to take photographs, applying fins to their feet and masks to their faces, chasing hermit crabs, or relaxing in beach chairs. Most snorkeled, some kayaked, and all shared sunshine, cool beverages, and smiles.
After coercing everyone into coming back to the ship, we set off in the direction of the Panama Canal. With the close of a very lovely lunch, put on by Anna Marie Becker-Hover and the hotel staff (wearing very stylish woven bird hats), we heard an excellent presentation of the history of the canal and a little of the culture and spice of Panama by Cristian Moreno.
During recap Jose Calvo shared tips on taking photos while going through the canal at night and then Margrit Ulrich presented the footage captured by Cristian Moreno and Amy Sobesky from the scuba dive at Granito de Oro earlier that day. We watched exciting clips of the reef shark, moray eels, Moorish idols, parrot fish and much more exotic marine life. A full and wonderful day in paradise!
