Granito de oro & Jicaron Island, Coiba Island National Park
The placid smooth sailing around Peninsula de Azuero last night was incredible. By dinner time near Punta mala as we were shifting direction heading west, the current of the Gulf of Panama increased our speed to almost twelve knots. Excellent! Our intentions were to reach as early as possible the Gulf of Chiriqui and the marine park of Coiba Island.
Coiba Island and its satellite islands are home to a great variety of marine and land environments. Several years ago this territory housed a few penal colonies; nevertheless since 2004 prisoners were removed to other localities.
Our unique visit started early right after breakfast. With the privilege of a morning low tide, the conditions were idyllic to see the underwater world at Granito de Oro.
After the visit to Granito de Oro, we planned to create a window of opportunity. Based on our experience in this area, we decided to stop at a rarely visited location: Jicaron Island. As far as we have in our records, this was the first visit to Jicaron by the National Geographic Sea Lion.
As our eyes were captivated by the beauty and isolation of the southern region of Coiba, we witnessed our endeavor materialize. A pod of at least two dozen Pantropical spotted dolphins lead the way to our anchorage site. All the staff and our officers on the bridge, with binoculars in our hands, were looking for that special place to disembark with our guests. After scouting with a Zodiac driver and staff, we found it! ... A vast flat beach (even with high tide), with lots of shade, no human footprints and very little surf ideal for a great second swimming opportunity or a leisure walk on the shore.
The combination of fine grain sand in addition to the rocky formations and pristine vegetation made our stop a successful one. To make matters even more interesting, the always recognizable call from white throated capuchin monkeys announced their presence on this island. A fascinating discovery! We knew the presence of this primate existed on the main island of Coiba, however we could not have imagined they may have been on this southern island separated from Coiba at least four miles by this wide channel.
By the end of the day, with a talk by Cristian our Panamanian naturalist on their vivid history, a colorful sunset and the large satisfaction of knowing that very few human beings have been capable of witnessing the splendor of Jicaron Island and Coiba Island like we did today.
