Panama, Coiba Island National Park
After sailing through the night, we arrived to a hidden paradise in the Gulf of Chiriqui. This paradise known as Coiba Island National Park has an extension of 271,125 hectares in which 20% is just mainland and all the rest is marine area. The park consists of Coiba, which is the largest island of the Central American Pacific, as well as 8 minor isles and 30 islets. It possesses invaluable unaltered ecosystems, such as mangroves, tropical forest, beaches, rivers, endemic flora and fauna, as well as its waters harboring the second biggest coral reef of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
When the first Spaniards arrived to this area, they reported that its inhabitants were fearless indigenous groups ruled by a chief known as “Cabo” or “Cobaye.” During the XVII century, the area was a refuge for pirates and corsairs. Halfway through the XIX century, the first Hispanic inhabitants arrived, developing small-scale agriculture and livestock activities. In 1919, the Panamanian Government constructed a penitentiary base, in which inmates and police officers were the only residents for almost 85 years.
In 2005, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) formally enrolled the park and the adjacent Special Zone of Maritime Protection on the list of World Heritage Sites. Coiba Island National Park is part of the regional initiative known as the Marine Conservation Corridor of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, which includes Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park, Colombia’s Gorgona National Park and Malpelo National Park, Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National park and Panama’s Coiba Island National Park. This Corridor is of great ecological importance where coral and crustacean larvae, fish and other organism travels from site-to-site by marine currents, thereby supporting repopulation of the sea.
As soon as we anchored, we went ashore to explore these wonders. We landed at a little islet known as “Granito de Oro,” “Little Grain of Gold.” Similar to Gary Larson comics, this Islet has a couple of coconut palms, white sands and a big colony of hermit crabs. Some went to explore its water by kayaks and others went snorkeling.
Its waters have a significant population of trans-pacific fish, which are species from the Indo-Pacific region that have established themselves in the Eastern Pacific. As in a parade, different species of fish swam for us, giving proof of the biodiversity that we can find. It was just a wonderful morning.
For lunch, we repositioned the National Geographic Sea Lion close to the ranger station. The galley had prepared a barbecue lunch for us. Right after lunch, we decided to take a short walk on the premises of the station looking for some species of birds. This was for great joy to all that participated.
We would have stayed here forever, but our trip had to continue. Back onboard the National Geographic Sea Lion, we started to sail, and a pod of dolphins escorted us giving us a farewell together with a lovely sunset.
