Coiba Island, Panama
After sailing through the night, we arrived at one of the newest National Parks of Panama: Coiba Island National Park. Created in 1980 and protected by law in November of 2004, this park gathers 271,000 hectares, of which 50,000 is mainland and the rest is marine area. Here is where you can find the second largest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. For many years, this island was off-limits since it was used has a penal colony. Once declared a National Park, they began to relocate the prisoners to different jails throughout Panama.
The biodiversity of the area is spectacular! We were eager to go and take a look. So after breakfast we picked up the gear and headed for this paradise. Some decided to take kayaks, while others went out in Zodiacs. Exploring the mouth of the Boca Grande River was indeed an exciting adventure. We could see southern stingrays, lemon-eyed sharks, snappers, American crocodiles, spiny-tailed iguanas, mangrove hawks, and red brocket deer, in addition to sailing through one of the most important and endangered ecosystems of the world – mangroves! What a morning! But there was still more to enjoy.
Back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager close to a small paradise islet, “Granito de Oro.” After lunch, we went ashore to either relax on the beach or to explore the waters surrounding this “Gary Larson” islet. Some also took kayaks to go around the islet. Each of us came back sharing the things we had seen: hawksbill turtles, green morays, white-tipped reef sharks, bicolor parrotfish, Moorish idols, puffer fish and many other things. It was indeed a little piece of paradise.
We could have spent the rest of the trip here, but 120 nautical miles had to be covered in order to reach our next destination: Costa Rica! So once on board, we lifted up the anchor and started sailing. A group of Pantropical spotted dolphins decided to escort us while we left this wonderful park. It was an excellent way to say farewell to Panama!
After sailing through the night, we arrived at one of the newest National Parks of Panama: Coiba Island National Park. Created in 1980 and protected by law in November of 2004, this park gathers 271,000 hectares, of which 50,000 is mainland and the rest is marine area. Here is where you can find the second largest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. For many years, this island was off-limits since it was used has a penal colony. Once declared a National Park, they began to relocate the prisoners to different jails throughout Panama.
The biodiversity of the area is spectacular! We were eager to go and take a look. So after breakfast we picked up the gear and headed for this paradise. Some decided to take kayaks, while others went out in Zodiacs. Exploring the mouth of the Boca Grande River was indeed an exciting adventure. We could see southern stingrays, lemon-eyed sharks, snappers, American crocodiles, spiny-tailed iguanas, mangrove hawks, and red brocket deer, in addition to sailing through one of the most important and endangered ecosystems of the world – mangroves! What a morning! But there was still more to enjoy.
Back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager close to a small paradise islet, “Granito de Oro.” After lunch, we went ashore to either relax on the beach or to explore the waters surrounding this “Gary Larson” islet. Some also took kayaks to go around the islet. Each of us came back sharing the things we had seen: hawksbill turtles, green morays, white-tipped reef sharks, bicolor parrotfish, Moorish idols, puffer fish and many other things. It was indeed a little piece of paradise.
We could have spent the rest of the trip here, but 120 nautical miles had to be covered in order to reach our next destination: Costa Rica! So once on board, we lifted up the anchor and started sailing. A group of Pantropical spotted dolphins decided to escort us while we left this wonderful park. It was an excellent way to say farewell to Panama!
