Coiba Island National Park
Our first day in Panama started with a beautiful sunrise. The sun’s rays began to reveal Panama’s most recently protected National Park. Coiba Island National Park has been protected by law since November of 2004. Before, it was Panama’s most feared penal colony. Today, it’s one of the largest national parks. It has an area of 270,000 hectares of which 50,000 hectares are land and the rest is a marine area. Possessing the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific, Coiba Island is just a paradise for snorkeling.
Right after breakfast, we grabbed our snorkeling gear and went ashore to enjoy part of this paradise. Arriving at an interesting islet known as “Granito de Oro” (Little Grain of Gold), we were greeted by the local patrol, a colony of hermit crabs. These crabs are responsible for keeping the beach clean of any organic material. Surrounding this islet was an interesting coral reef waiting for us. While some decided to explore the surroundings by kayak, others went straight to see what that the reef had to offer. White-tipped reef sharks, jewel morays, grunts, lobsters, butterfly fish, bi-colored parrot fish, moorish idols and many other species of fish were there to prove that it was a paradise.
Back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager directly in front of the main island of Coiba. The galley crew had prepared a satisfying beach BBQ lunch for us ashore. We would have stayed in this pristine place, but 190 nautical miles had to be sailed in order to get us to our next destination in Panama. As we were sailing away from Coiba a group of Bryde’s whales decided to give us a farewell to this slice of paradise. It had been another marvelous day!
Our first day in Panama started with a beautiful sunrise. The sun’s rays began to reveal Panama’s most recently protected National Park. Coiba Island National Park has been protected by law since November of 2004. Before, it was Panama’s most feared penal colony. Today, it’s one of the largest national parks. It has an area of 270,000 hectares of which 50,000 hectares are land and the rest is a marine area. Possessing the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific, Coiba Island is just a paradise for snorkeling.
Right after breakfast, we grabbed our snorkeling gear and went ashore to enjoy part of this paradise. Arriving at an interesting islet known as “Granito de Oro” (Little Grain of Gold), we were greeted by the local patrol, a colony of hermit crabs. These crabs are responsible for keeping the beach clean of any organic material. Surrounding this islet was an interesting coral reef waiting for us. While some decided to explore the surroundings by kayak, others went straight to see what that the reef had to offer. White-tipped reef sharks, jewel morays, grunts, lobsters, butterfly fish, bi-colored parrot fish, moorish idols and many other species of fish were there to prove that it was a paradise.
Back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager directly in front of the main island of Coiba. The galley crew had prepared a satisfying beach BBQ lunch for us ashore. We would have stayed in this pristine place, but 190 nautical miles had to be sailed in order to get us to our next destination in Panama. As we were sailing away from Coiba a group of Bryde’s whales decided to give us a farewell to this slice of paradise. It had been another marvelous day!
