CHUM is headed to Panama next April.
Well be departing on Saturday, April 18th 2015, returning either Saturday the 25th or Sunday the 26th, depending on your preference.
Where are we going? The Pacific side of Panama, specifically Santa Catalina, and then on to Isla Coiba.
Its a bit of a trek from Panama City (5 hours) but thats a big part of the appeal. Santa Catalina is a fishing and surfing village thats literally at the end of the road. Once you get there, you cant go any further. Unless of course, you hop in a boat for an hours trip to an island in the Coiba National Park and dive for 3 days in the remote locations of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spending 2 nights at the ranger station on Isla Coiba.
It has dorm style accommodations with six beds to a room. The rooms are comfortable yet basic each with shared restrooms (separate facilities for men & women); guests need to bring towels and toiletries.
Coiba offers incredible sightings year round of white tip sharks, many species of reef fish, eels, and also seahorses and frogfish. In April they usually still have thermoclines at depth, which brings pelagic stingrays, guitar sharks and electric rays. They also have had sightings of whale sharks, giant manta rays and mobula manta rays anywhere from November/December through March/April each year. Typical water temperature is warm at the surface and underwater (75-80F), with thermoclines starting at depths of 40-60 feet beginning in late January lasting through May (68-72F). The diving can be a bit on the challenging side sometimes, but anyone who has experience comfortably diving in the Flower Gardens or similar conditions should be fine.
If you're interested in joining us and want more information, please let me know.
Well be departing on Saturday, April 18th 2015, returning either Saturday the 25th or Sunday the 26th, depending on your preference.
Where are we going? The Pacific side of Panama, specifically Santa Catalina, and then on to Isla Coiba.
Its a bit of a trek from Panama City (5 hours) but thats a big part of the appeal. Santa Catalina is a fishing and surfing village thats literally at the end of the road. Once you get there, you cant go any further. Unless of course, you hop in a boat for an hours trip to an island in the Coiba National Park and dive for 3 days in the remote locations of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spending 2 nights at the ranger station on Isla Coiba.
Coiba offers incredible sightings year round of white tip sharks, many species of reef fish, eels, and also seahorses and frogfish. In April they usually still have thermoclines at depth, which brings pelagic stingrays, guitar sharks and electric rays. They also have had sightings of whale sharks, giant manta rays and mobula manta rays anywhere from November/December through March/April each year. Typical water temperature is warm at the surface and underwater (75-80F), with thermoclines starting at depths of 40-60 feet beginning in late January lasting through May (68-72F). The diving can be a bit on the challenging side sometimes, but anyone who has experience comfortably diving in the Flower Gardens or similar conditions should be fine.
If you're interested in joining us and want more information, please let me know.
