Coiba Island, Panama
The sound of the anchor being dropped indicated our arrival to Coiba National Park after sailing all night. With an extension of 271,000 hectares, this park had been kept pristine before being created on the early 1980s and protected by law on November of 2004. Most of it is marine area as the main land gathers an extension of 50,000 hectares. During the early 1900s it became a penal colony, but once it was declared a National Park, the prisoners were relocated in different jails around the country. Now it offers a variety of activities to enjoy its environment.
The sun had begun to show its rays over the island when many of us were ready to go for an early birding at its shore. Greeted by “Sara,” a red brocket deer, on our arrival to the headquarters of the park, we divided in groups to enjoy the beauties of the area. Palm tanagers, red crowned woodpecker, great kiskadee, red lore parrot, mealy amazons, bare throated tiger heron, American oyster catcher, roadside hawk and buff throated saltator were some of the species of birds that decided to give us a show.
Back on board for breakfast, we repositioned the Sea Voyager closer to a small islet known as “Granito de Oro,” little grain of gold. Like a cartoon islet with two palm trees, white sand and lots of hermit crabs, this islet gave honor to its name. Kayaking and snorkeling were some of the activities we could do. Surrounded by coral reefs and a variety of fishes, we could experience the beauty of the area. It is in this park where we can find the second biggest coral reef on the Eastern Pacific. Moorish idols, cornet reef fish, white tipped reef sharks, hawk billed turtles, bicolor parrotfish, king angelfish, butterfly fish, green moray eels, and many other species of fish gave a nice parade for us.
We would have stayed in this paradise forever, but we had to continue our adventure. Lifting anchor, we said good-bye to this park and as the sun began to set, a group of Pantropical spotted dolphins showed up to give us a farewell. Now, another 120 nautical miles had to be cover in order to reach our next paradise, Costa Rica!
The sound of the anchor being dropped indicated our arrival to Coiba National Park after sailing all night. With an extension of 271,000 hectares, this park had been kept pristine before being created on the early 1980s and protected by law on November of 2004. Most of it is marine area as the main land gathers an extension of 50,000 hectares. During the early 1900s it became a penal colony, but once it was declared a National Park, the prisoners were relocated in different jails around the country. Now it offers a variety of activities to enjoy its environment.
The sun had begun to show its rays over the island when many of us were ready to go for an early birding at its shore. Greeted by “Sara,” a red brocket deer, on our arrival to the headquarters of the park, we divided in groups to enjoy the beauties of the area. Palm tanagers, red crowned woodpecker, great kiskadee, red lore parrot, mealy amazons, bare throated tiger heron, American oyster catcher, roadside hawk and buff throated saltator were some of the species of birds that decided to give us a show.
Back on board for breakfast, we repositioned the Sea Voyager closer to a small islet known as “Granito de Oro,” little grain of gold. Like a cartoon islet with two palm trees, white sand and lots of hermit crabs, this islet gave honor to its name. Kayaking and snorkeling were some of the activities we could do. Surrounded by coral reefs and a variety of fishes, we could experience the beauty of the area. It is in this park where we can find the second biggest coral reef on the Eastern Pacific. Moorish idols, cornet reef fish, white tipped reef sharks, hawk billed turtles, bicolor parrotfish, king angelfish, butterfly fish, green moray eels, and many other species of fish gave a nice parade for us.
We would have stayed in this paradise forever, but we had to continue our adventure. Lifting anchor, we said good-bye to this park and as the sun began to set, a group of Pantropical spotted dolphins showed up to give us a farewell. Now, another 120 nautical miles had to be cover in order to reach our next paradise, Costa Rica!
