Continuing a series of blog posts about our recent trip to Panama.
- Part 1: Panama City
- Part 2: The Cruise Begins
- Part 3: Through the Canal
- Part 4: Into the Pacific (this entry)
- Part 5: Darién
Our next day we were in the Pearl Islands, where we did some Zodiac-based birdwatching. I think this is typical of any of these cruises: there were a lot of birders on the trip. I'm not really a birder, but this was interesting to me in a meta kind of way. For example, birders can spot birds (or anything, really) that I sometimes had trouble seeing even when they were pointed out.
Our guide pointing out seabirds of interestAlso, some of the birders have some serious camera equipment. (Another quotable quote from the NatGeo photographer: "If you want to make any photo better, put a bird in it.") Also, the guides know an incredible amount about birds. This last I observed over and over as we proceeded.
Serious photographersIn the afternoon there was snorkeling and/or kayaking on Pachequilla Island, one of the Pearl Islands. I much admired the organization and patience that went into herding a bunch of old(er) folks onto Zodiacs, off Zodiacs, into snorkel gear, and then back into and out of the Zodiacs. They really do have the system down. This included a status board that we diligently marked whenever we got off or on the ship.[1]
Status board to indicate whether you were on board or off. Woe betide the passenger who fails to indicate their status.
Loading tourists onto the ZodiacsAs part of our beach outing they'd set up a bunch of folding chairs and a portable bar. Us, we really didn't have to do much of anything.
They looked after our comfort at every momentWe quickly learned the terms dry landing and wet landing for how we would get out of a boat and back in, which in turn dictated our footwear choices. Between the dry/wet landings and the pointed requirement for "closed-toe shoes" for some of the outings, holy cow, I've never had to think so much about shoes on vacation before. :)
Footwear in the Zodiac. Going places by Zodiac meant a "wet landing".Something I hadn't seen before: they brought along pool noodles for extra flotation. Worked great!
Extra flotation for snorkelersThe next day was similar — Zodiac tour and birdwatching, snorkeling, kayaking, chilling on the beach, this time on Bayoneta and Chapera islands. In the evening we got a preso on shorebirds, which the naturalist (an American woman) had titled "Boobies and their Buddies". Funny title, but I learned a bunch.
Denizen on the beach of Bartolomé Island
Beach timeNext up: Darién
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