Panama - Santa Catalina & Isla Coiba

Wow, our time in Catalina was incredible!

Santa Catalina is a little paradise for surfers, divers, or anyone looking to get away from mass tourism.

The tiny village - the nearest ATM is 40 minutes away, we didn't have electricity for half the time, and there was no Wi-Fi anywhere - made us incredibly happy. The people here were all super friendly, the fresh fish was delicious, and diving was a dream.

On the first day, we explored the village and beaches on foot and went surfing. I also booked a diving trip for the next day - luckily!

Early in the morning, we set off with a great group and our super cool dive instructor Cedric from France, under the shining sun.

We visited three different diving spots, all of which were impressive. We saw lots of sharks, turtles, moray eels, and other amazing marine creatures. It was also fascinating to hear the whale songs throughout the entire dive.

Between dives, we had breakfast and lunch on beautiful and secluded beaches.

On the way back, we experienced the absolute highlight. Just a few meters away from our boat, humpback whales jumped out of the water. We turned off the engine and waited in hopes of seeing the whales again. Our instructor explained that in August, the whale mothers show particularly playful behavior because they are accompanied by their newborns and want to entertain them - how cool! And we were lucky, after a few minutes, another huge humpback whale jumped right next to our boat. That was definitely one of the most impressive moments of my life! Absolutely fascinating creatures! :-)