For someone who really likes to sleep I find it fascinating that my body adjusts so quickly to the boat and I wake up with the sun.
 

 
Not everyone does, but there were a few others out enjoying a coffee and the stillness of the beautiful sunrise.
 

 
The water was as smooth as glass and the only thing you could hear in the distance was the occasional call of a bird.
 

 
It was too serene out not to take the opportunity to have an early morning snorkel and check out the bountiful coral life one more time.
 

 

 
I was in good company; both Keith and a fellow cruiser Lee were out with their cameras trying to capture everything that moved.  Here is just a smidgen of what we saw...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This very bold fish came up to challenge me just as I was trying to take the photo...
 

 

 

 
Isn't the array of colors amazing?!  It was almost a sensory overload.
 
This morning we were going on a little adventure; we were visiting a remote part of Bocus with a guide to visit a farm/plantation and see the typical fauna of the area.  If we were lucky enough we would spot some of the little poisonous frogs common here and maybe even a sloth!  

Dave piled us all into the dingy and motored us over to yet another little secluded bay where our guide was waiting for us.
 

 

 

 

 
Our guide was very perky and an American student with a wealth of knowledge.  She was working for the owners helping them manage the property and trying to get it sustainable and perhaps even profitable.
 
The first thing she did was point out a HUGE female spider.  YIKES!
 

 
There was an older gentleman living here as the caretaker and today his cute grandson was visiting him.  This is where he lives, which is a typical Panamanian house with the open bottom and living quarters on the top.
 

 
Or guide was full of facts and interesting information that she did her best to share with all of us.
 

 
Here's a closer look at the house which has no windows and is open even upstairs.
 

 
Our guide was experimenting in an unused dugout canoe trying to grow some various vegetation to see how well they would do here.
 

 

 
There were some healthy chickens and a very colorful rooster chowing down on seed underneath the house.
 

 
Our guide, whose name escapes me, had us sample a few of the plants she was growing.
 

 
Spotted!  Our first poisonous frog!  Even though this guy is sooooo little and cute he is very deadly.
 

 
This is cocoa growing on the tree; what is eventually used to make chocolate and also a favorite snack of the sloth.
 

 
They were also growing and harvesting rice here.
 

 

 
We were in a tropical rain forest which was really different than I had expected.  I thought we would see dripping, soggy and humid vegetation so thick you could barely walk through it.  Although this is their dry season the vegetation was still sparser than I imagined.
 

 

 
Keith and Lee found yet another poisonous frog to photograph; they were everywhere (the frogs that is)!
 

 

 
The grandson was so cute.  He was out of school today and just hanging out and helping his grandfather.  He was very quiet but watched everything we did.
 

 

 
They made and sold these purses.  The thread is actually made from the leaf of a plant.  Pretty cool!
 

 
Our guide showed us on a map the extent of the property/plantation we were on which was really quite large.
 

 

 
They were very proud of the compost toilets and offered to let us use them.  We all graciously declined.
 

 
This was bamboo that was growing nearby and towered to more than 30 feet high!
 

 
We now were going to have a demonstration on what cocoa looks like fresh from the fruit.  I say fruit because it is harvested from the seed of a fruit.
 

 

 

 

 

 
The white part of the fruit was pretty tasty, although there wasn't a lot to it.  It tasted a bit like Sweet Tarts.  The inside which is used to make cocoa was very bitter.
 
Time for a walk through the rain forest!
 
These are air plants growing wild on another tree...
 

 
...a red frog sighting, look but don't touch!
 

 
This is a sort of bitter orange that grows native here.
 

 

 
Finally, a beautiful green/blue frog!  Again, very poisonous and I can say that I wasn't even tempted to touch it.
 

 
This is a termite nest and we saw them everywhere here on the trees.  They looked like big huge growths.
 

 
The termites are very tiny and apparently a very healthy snack.  A few tried them; I decided it was something I could live without experiencing.
 

 
We passed by cocoa plants, banana trees and all kinds of various things being grown for a crop.
 

 

 

 
Some of these trees were enormous.
 

 
Another itty bitty beautiful frog...
 

 
This was an area where they were collecting water and controlling the flow of it through the property.
 

 

 
Believe it or not this is ginger!  It grows quite huge here!!!
 

 
And who knew bananas grew upside down?
 

 

 

 

 

 
Kids will be kids!  He stopped to play with fire ants coming out of a huge anthill.
 

 
Now that the grandson knew we liked taking photos of the frogs he would try to find them for us and coax them out with a stick.
 

 

 
They aren't easy to photograph; they move around and try to get out of the way as fast as possible!
 

 
We walked on with our guide as she continued to answer our questions and tell us about everything we were seeing.
 

 

 
The locals here really use these dugout canoes; we would see at least a few of them paddling by every day.  This one comes standard with a bucket to bail water!  Bonus!
 

 
What a lovely tour!  It was really interesting to learn so much about the local vegetation and crops, I'm really glad we had the opportunity to experience it.
 

 
By the time we arrived back on the Explorer lunch was ready and it was my favorite so far; baked fish meatballs with dipping sauces and a coleslaw salad, very delicious and healthy!


 
Our resident nudist prepped for another snorkel and with our persuasive encouragement Shannon assisted in making sure a white backside didn't turn red.
 
 
 
Today we were snorkeling the mangroves again, but in a different area farther away from the catamaran.  Our crew dropped us off in the dingy leaving us to float and snorkel our way back to the boat.  
 

 
With the full sun shining down the water took on a whole different color...
 

 
...and so did the heavily laden mangroves under the water at the shoreline.
 

 

 
Here's just a few of the photos from our snorkel back to the catamaran...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attached to this piece of coral is a type of starfish called a brittle star.  They were everywhere here.
 

 

The glass like round ball you see is a type of seaweed called a sea pearl or a sailor's eyeball.
 

 

 

It is obvious that I was fascinated by the mangroves.  I've never seen anything like them!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe the white mass on this coral outcropping is an upside-down jellyfish.
 

 

 

 

Here is another jellyfish, we saw many of these and thankfully these are the non-stinging kind.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a fabulous snorkel!  There is so much coral life here.
 
The peril of having long hair is that sometime the mask doesn't want to leave your head!
 

 
Sunset was moody and beautiful.  Here it is not a matter of "if" but "when" it is going to rain, which was definitely going to happen tonight.
 

 

 
After a nice shower and changing into the luxurious feel of clothes that weren't a bathing suit, dinner was ready.
 
We had ceviche for the first course...
 

 
There was a wonderful curry for the main course along with coconut papaya rice.  Yum!
 

 

 
Funny enough the desserts were always amazing but since I normally don't eat them (trust me I was eating them during the entire cruise) I forgot to take photos of them.  Oh well!
 
We all sat around after dinner talking, laughing and even learning a new way to play quarters!
 

 
Captain Chris kindly made sure our drinks were topped up as we sat out enjoying the night.
 

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