Coiba Island National Park, Panama
After sailing throughout the night, we arrived at a lovely islet located in Coiba Island National Park. White sands, four palm trees, a couple of shrubs and a big army of hermit crabs were the perfect ingredients of this idyllic paradise that could be use as an inspiration for any artist. The water was crystal clear and you could see the corals on the bottom. How to resist not going in to check it out?
Right after breakfast we grabbed our gear and went ashore. The temperature of the water invited us not to stay on the beach but to go in and explore the underwater surroundings of the islet. Different species of fish showed up to see the weird creatures that needed special gear to breath underwater. Colorful fish, including the bi-colored parrot fish, blue-chinned parrot fish, scissor-tailed damselfish, Moorish idols, blue and gold snappers and many others paraded in front of our eyes, as though trying to give us a message. A message that said: “Please, protect us!”
The oceans are being damaged due to overfishing and here in Coiba Island National Park, fishing is forbidden. With the help of the NGO Marviva, this hidden paradise has been protected by law since 2004. Coiba has the second biggest coral reef in the Eastern Pacific and is part of an important marine corridor that connects several marine parks, from Cocos Island in Costa Rica to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.
We spent the whole morning enjoying this paradise, kayaking and snorkeling. Back onboard, we repositioned the National Geographic Sea Lion close to the ranger station. The galley was waiting for us with a delicious barbecue for lunch. While having lunch we could hear in the distance the endemic species of howler monkeys that live on the island. The island itself is covered with a lush forest that has been protected for years, even before being declared a national park. The rest of the afternoon was spent on short hikes looking for birds and enjoying the warms waters by swimming.
We would have finished our journey here but we had to get back onboard; 120 nautical miles must be covered in order to reach our next destination. As we started sailing, the sun began to set on the horizon, giving us the farewell from Panama.
