Escudo de Veragua
The last day in our two-week adventure throughout Central America, a voyage that covered about 1500 miles and took us to five different nations, was spent once more in Panama.
The natural history of this spectacular and unusual Central American country has largely been overlooked due to its complex cultural history, and the mistaken idea of its being very westernized. As the “final link” of the land bridge, it has extraordinary flora and fauna, which has long been protected through a system of national parks.
The last couple of days have been spent exploring a particularly fascinating part of this country – the large islands that make up Bocas del Toro, Colon, Popa, Bastimentos and today’s site of Escudo de Veragua. These islands were part of the mainland until about 10,000 years ago, when the end of the Ice Age marked an important rise in sea levels the world over. Once isolated, the species inhabiting these islands began to change: in fact there is a large potential for the study of evolutionary processes in the area, and many species here are endemic to the area, in particular a species of poison dart frog.
The spectacular scenery of the area blew us all away as we explored the shorelines of the island by Zodiac, kayak or just relaxing on the beach. The afternoon was dedicated to snorkeling, and we had a wonderful time, as the conditions could not have been better. A brilliant sun illuminated the coral heads and their colorful inhabitants as we swam amongst creatures as diverse as reef squid, lobster, parrot fish and the unique spotted drum.
The last day in our two-week adventure throughout Central America, a voyage that covered about 1500 miles and took us to five different nations, was spent once more in Panama.
The natural history of this spectacular and unusual Central American country has largely been overlooked due to its complex cultural history, and the mistaken idea of its being very westernized. As the “final link” of the land bridge, it has extraordinary flora and fauna, which has long been protected through a system of national parks.
The last couple of days have been spent exploring a particularly fascinating part of this country – the large islands that make up Bocas del Toro, Colon, Popa, Bastimentos and today’s site of Escudo de Veragua. These islands were part of the mainland until about 10,000 years ago, when the end of the Ice Age marked an important rise in sea levels the world over. Once isolated, the species inhabiting these islands began to change: in fact there is a large potential for the study of evolutionary processes in the area, and many species here are endemic to the area, in particular a species of poison dart frog.
The spectacular scenery of the area blew us all away as we explored the shorelines of the island by Zodiac, kayak or just relaxing on the beach. The afternoon was dedicated to snorkeling, and we had a wonderful time, as the conditions could not have been better. A brilliant sun illuminated the coral heads and their colorful inhabitants as we swam amongst creatures as diverse as reef squid, lobster, parrot fish and the unique spotted drum.
