Sailing around Azuero Peninsula is always an enigmatic situation. Last night around “Punta Mala”—literally translated as “Bad Point”—the sea was smooth and allowed us to get a great night sleep. Early in the morning as we were reaching our destination of Bona & Otoque islands, a splendid sunrise and the escort of brown boobies led National Geographic Sea Lion to our anchorage on the southern side of Bona Island.
Located just 22 miles away from the Pacific entrance to Panama Canal, Bona and Otoque possess an amazing number of nesting birds including brown boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, and brown pelicans. The cooler, nutrient-rich water provides enough food to nourish thousands of birds in this colony. During the morning, we had a great opportunity to understand the overwhelming dynamics among these species. Magnificent frigatebirds immerse in a courtship behavior, brown boobies nesting—some of them with their offspring, and brown pelicans taking a morning bath were a few examples of the special interaction we had with our natural world.
After lunch, our expedition leader had the great idea to visit Taboga Island before entering the Panama Canal. It was a great cultural addition to our week! Also known as the “Island of Flowers,” the landing beach, the streets of Taboga, the old Catholic church, and the picturesque homes of hundreds of inhabitants immersed our souls providing a real connection with Panama and its heritage. Actually, the church of Taboga or church of San Pedro, founded in 1523, is claimed to be one of the oldest standing churches in the hemisphere along with one located in Santo Domingo and another in Guatemala.
During the afternoon while we waited for the authorities of the Panama Canal along with our pilot to take us through our first part of the transit of the Canal, we enjoyed a sunset cocktail party at the sundeck. The fresh sea bass ceviche with pineapple cocktails, the skyline of Panama City, and the enormous amount of ships at the Pacific entrance of the Canal provided a great scenario to witness a colorful sunset with great camaraderie.
Late evening we started through Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks, taking National Geographic Sea Lion 86 feet or 28 meters up to reach the continental divide at Gaillard’s Cut. Afterwards, we dropped anchor at Gatun Lake to wait for our next adventure on Barro Colorado Island.
