Panama - Snorkeling Adventure

Day One Arrive Panama City

Panama City (commonly referred to simply as "Panama") is one of those rare Latin American capitals that has it all: a high standard of living, a seemingly endless supply of investment from abroad, a surplus of natural beauty, and a rich cultural brew of ethnicities and religions. It has been called the new Hong Kong and Miami -- a sleek and modern city proud of its role as host to the world.

Day Two Arrive Tranquilo Bay. Snorkeling trip to Zapatilla Cayes

These two unspoiled islands are protected by the National Park and home only to a park ranger and a couple of seasonal research scientists who place radio tags on sea turtles to track their global movements. Reef encircles the islands with oceanic formations consisting of walls, freshwater caves, tunnels, pinnacles, coral spires and towers, groove and spur, ocean impact reef, sandy ledges and shallow protected patch reef. Large formations of brain and elkhorn corals are covered in a tapestry of colors from soft corals and tropical fish. Various snappers, groupers, hogfish, Bar Jacks, barracuda, rays, grunts, margates, squirrelfish, puffer fish, blue tangs, parrot fish, doctor fish, angel fish, butterfly fish, wrasses, damselfish and silversides can be observed in the area.

Interesting elements – Walls, towers, tunnels, hard and soft corals, schools of tropical fish, macro

Day Three Isla Tigres

Forming the eastern rim of the archipelago, a chain of dramatic rock outcroppings known as Islas Tigres abruptly jut out of the sea. Each of these stunning islands has its own unique array of geological formations. Tiger Rock is the first of the chain and serves as a nighttime navigation aide to mariners with a beacon to warn away ships in the night. The western wall of Tiger Rock descends to a depth of 230 feet. The rock wall itself has a steep slope, and you can cruise alongside the rock at whatever depth you feel most comfortable. The rock is covered with plentiful amounts of soft and hard coral, and has numerous small crevices or caverns. One can expect to see moray eels, bristletree worms, anemones, sponges, and other soft corals. Schools of fish that cruise the area include bar jacks, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, bonita, groupers, snappers, bermuda chubs, and doctorfish. Once circling the rock and reaching the far side, you'll return back around the rock at a shallower depth, perhaps 50-60 feet en route to the anchor.

Interesting elements – Walls, hard and soft corals, tropical fish, rock formations

Day Four Texas Reef

Punta Vieja, the easternmost peninsula of Isla Bastimentos, is five miles to the northeast of Tranquilo Bay. Texas Reef is located right in the middle. The ocean between these two points is an extremely diverse array of marine ecosystems, each harmoniously overlapping as it converges with the next. Mangrove forest, creek mouths, and sandy beaches blend into reef flats of sea grasses and patch reef. These reefs reach out to the algal crest and descend onto the outer slope. Texas reef consist of sandy shelves from 2-15 feet deep with patch reefs and plenty of tropical fish. The shallow plateaus of the reef front are alive with beautiful formations of elkhorn, staghorn, and Brain corals as they extend to the outer slope. The outer slope, alive with coral and invertebrates, descends to a sandy bottom at around 60 feet.

A variety of tropical fish including snappers, groupers, mackerel, Bar Jacks, grunts, margates, squirrelfish, puffer fish, parrotfish, angle fish, butterfly fish, wrasses, damselfish, trumpetfish, and silversides can be observed in the area.

Interesting elements – Elkhorn and brain coral formations, tropical fish, convergence of various reef zones

Day Five Cayo Agua

This reef front parallels the entire windward coastline of Cayo Agua with many interesting formations along the four-mile distance. A channel with deeper water wraps around the eastern tip of the island.

The shallow plateaus of the reef front are alive with elkhorn, staghorn and Brain corals as they extend to the outer slope. Mini walls slope to about 60 feet and are covered with soft corals, invertebrates, and tropical fish.

Interesting elements – Walls, hard and soft corals, tropical fish

Day Six Cayo Gallego

On the leeward side of Isla Bastimentos, hundreds of mangrove Cayes dot the National Marine Park where beds of sea grass cover shallow flats of white and pink coral sand. These flats are covered with beautiful patch reefs, soft corals, and tropical fish. We might encounter spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles or dolphins. The outer edges of these flats nearly reach the surface before beginning to descend to a depth of about 80 feet. Various brain and lettuce corals cover the slope, which are alive with soft corals and invertebrates, providing a vivid collage of colors.

Interesting elements – Sandy shelf, reef slope, soft corals, macro -- fish and invertebrates

Day Seven Isla Popa

As the reef fronts of Isla Bastimentos and Isla Popa converge, the Cayo Crawl channel is formed; here, fish congregate to feed as the tide pushes the water through coral walls and grooves of the channel. This reef front parallels the entire windward coastline of Isla Popa with many interesting formations along the five-mile distance. The shallow plateaus of the reef front are alive with elkhorn, staghorn, and Brain corals as they extend to the outer slope. Snappers, Parrot fish, Angel fish, Damsels, Wrasse and Butterfly fish will be a few of the marine species we encounter. Nurse sharks often rest below the elkhorn formations as the ocean current flows through their gill slits. Just beyond the outer slope, there are several sea mounds rising from the bottom, forming pinnacles just a few feet below the surface. Circling the outer slope of these sea mounds, we will observe dramatic coral formations that have broken off the edge and fallen into the blue water.

Interesting elements – Elkhorn and brain coral formations, sea mounds, tropical fish, soft corals

Day Eight Punta Valiente

This dramatic peninsula forms the far eastern rim of the archipelago. Covered in dense tropical forest, high peaks begin a rapid descent to the ocean from over 700 feet. After crossing the beautiful Bahia Azul, we will enter a small indigenous village where the trailhead begins.

A 15-minute walk through the jungle will take us to the longest stretch of white sand beaches in Panama. Short jungle trails dart off the beach to take you behind impassable sections of rock cliff coastline. Jungle and trees cascade over the cliffs and continue growing down the damp rock faces. Ferns, bromeliads, orchids and other epiphytes invade the cracks in the moist cliff face and cover tree branches hanging over the beach.

Just off the beach is a chain of stunning rock outcroppings known as Plantain Cayes. These beautiful cayes serve as a resting ground and rookery to many species of sea birds such as magnificent frigates, boobies and jaegers.

Day NIne Activities at Tranquilo Bay. Return to Panama City.

Day Ten Return Home