Coiba Marine National Park
As we arrived at our long awaited snorkeling spot, Granito de Oro, “Grain of Gold,” it seemed more like liquid gold was falling from the sky than rain on this tiny island. In the Lindblad tradition, Bud, our Expedition Leader, did not let rain interfere with the objective at hand. We departed the ship for the tiny island and much to everyone’s surprise the snorkeling was good even in the rain. We spotted reef sharks, green turtles, Moorish idols, puffer fish and even an octopus on the beach’s edge making our outing very successful. Another activity, not involving the beach, was the opportunity to hike through the primary rainforest of Coiba Island, relatively unexplored; unless, of course, you were one of the prisoners when this used to be Devil’s Island.
Coiba Marine National Park is Panama’s latest park system with over 172,000 sq. acres making it one of the largest marine parks in Central America. Once it was a hard time prison fit for novel, now it is the crown jewel for scientific theses. This protected area forms part of the ambitious project to unite four countries for the common objective of creating a massive marine corridor that will preserve and educate the world on marine endemism, which these countries proudly hold for the world.
Our day continued as we lifted anchor and navigated towards the southern tip of the island for some fantastic Zodiac cruising in the massive estuaries of Boca Grande. The water was so clear we even saw Tarpon hunting the surface water of these beautiful mangroves. Coiba is a truly inviting place that is largely unexplored and seldom visited. A place you must certainly see.
