It was another glorious day aboard the Sea Lion. We
woke up at 6:45, and the ship was still moving towards Coiba National Park
off the coast of Panama. It was a rather cloudy start to the day, but the
sun came out, and we had a lovely breeze so it was comfortable.
Breakfast was at 7:30. This morning they had the
typical scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, fruit (including gooseberries
which a local described as fruit d'amore). The special on the buffet was
cheese filled crepes with a strawberry compote. They were delicious.
At 8:30, the Sea Lion anchored off a tiny little island
with a large sandy beach and an interesting but not too colorful coral reef.
This little islet is called Granita d'oro. The staff had taken
canvas chairs and cold drinks ahead of us. Bill and I spent about an hour
in the water snorkeling. There were some interesting fish - I liked the
parrot fish and damsel fish - some sea urchins, and some interesting coral
formations.
When I turned into a prune, I headed back to the beach.
This tiny little beach is covered with hermit crabs, thousands of them of
every size and shape of shell covering. I felt badly about even walking
on the sand since I knew I must be stepping on tons of them. I loved the
variety of shells that each of them had picked. Some were so small they
looked like fast-moving ticks.
We were the first to head back to the boat. Others
stayed another hour or so, kayaking and snorkeling or just beach sitting.
While we were gone, the staff had done a major clean with clean sheets,
so I dropped my gear in the hallway and took some photos of the cabin. I
showered and put on dry clothes and sat outside enjoying the view and the
breeze.
Eventually everyone made it back on board, and we headed 4
miles down the main island to the ranger station of Coiba National Park.
The staff went first taking all the fixings for a picnic. As soon
as we landed, we were told there were capuchin monkeys up the walkway, so I
went to see. There were 4 or 5 of them working on a coconut that they had
gotten open. They weren't too skittish around us, so we got some fun
pictures. I stayed after the others went back to the picnic shelter on
the beach. I was rewarded with an agouti (large rodent like creature) and
some large lizards.
The picnic consisted of hamburgers and hot dogs and some
good potato salad. Wonderful homemade oatmeal cookies were for dessert.
We just wandered around the area or sat in chairs facing the beautiful
blue waters and beach. I got a neat shot of some pelicans sitting on a
rock in the water. Vultures were hanging out. People went kayaking
and a few snorkeling.
About 2:30, Bill and I along with a few others
headed back to the Sea Lion. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. A
couple of the staff came back from a diving trip. It seems the Sea Lion
treats its staff well.
We got our wet t-shirts in the dryer before most of the
people came back, so once again we avoided the 'dryer' wars. People are
getting rather testy about people not checking the dryer, taking other people's
clothes out. Now we have people sitting in front of the dryers outside to
guard their clothes.
When I got back I stayed down by the zodiac talking to
the second mate and jokingly asking if I could do the donuts with the zodiac
drivers. When they get ready to load the zodiacs back on top of the ship
with a crane, the drivers scream around in circles emptying the water from the
zodiacs. They look like they are having a ball!
After all the zodiacs and kayaks were on top of the ship,
we left Coiba at 4:30. At 5, one of the naturalists, Christian, gave a
long talk on the history and future of Panama. Instead, I went up to the
top and watched the scenery float by. It was so peaceful and pleasant
since I had it almost all to myself. I also got to see the hotel manager
and his team load at least 75 net bags of dirty linen onto a huge tarp.
They had a fire bucket system tossing it from the deck below, up the
stairs, and onto the tarp. At 5am tomorrow morning, we will dock in Gofito
where they will toss all the bags onto a truck to be taken to a laundry.
The purser will take our passports and forms to immigration so we don't
have to go through the process.
I went to the bow to watch the sunset. It was a
beautiful sunset. Just before the sun set, the crowd let out from the
lecture, and a group of folks came to the bow. There was a green flash
which pleased everyone.
We then had a social hour with hearts of palm empanadas,
cheese and crackers, and fruit. The crew gave a recap of our day with
photos they had taken. Tomorrow's program was given with times, clothing
needed, etc.
Finally at 7:10, we went in to dinner. We had a
great salad of spinach, apples, blue cheese, candied pecans with a citrus
vinaigrette. I had half of two entrees - rainbow trout with Romesco sauce
[which came with a great rice and roasted cauliflower] and herbed crepes with
roasted veggies served on lentils. Both were good. Bill got a NY
strip steak which was also great. For dessert we had an interesting almond
cake a la mode.
I had been talking to servers for two days about who made
the pastries, and people kept saying David. Somebody finally took me into
the kitchen to meet him. What a sweet young guy. He seemed to
really appreciate the compliments on his desserts and breads.
After dinner we had the standard recap of the day with
the staff showing some of the photos they had taken.
It was a beautiful day all day, but we might be
going into the area where there could be passing showers. No matter, it
will still be great!
No comments:
Post a Comment