Coiba Island
We had spent the night sailing 190 nautical miles from the “paradise of seabirds” towards another great paradise, Isla Coiba National Park. The sun was giving its first rays by the time we arrived at Boca Grande, the mouth of a river on Coiba Island. Each one of us were eager to start this exiting day, so right after the early breakfast we geared up and went to the stern to load the Zodiacs.
Kayakers were the first ones to depart and following them, the Zodiac cruisers. The morning was perfect for these activities – all through the mangroves we could appreciate part of the wild life of the area. Bat falcons, green kingfishers, egrets, ibis, green and black iguanas, and many other species were seen. During this cruise we also began to hear the howl very particular to the endemic species of mantled howler monkey found here, and soon we encountered them resting after eating their breakfast of leaves from the branches of a big Ficus tree.
It was indeed a good way to start the morning, but there was still more to enjoy. Back onboard, we repositioned the Sea Voyager close to an enchanted little islet, “Granito De Oro.” While some went directly to snorkel, others stayed ashore observing the hermit crabs, owners of this islet, feeding on coconuts. This wonderful park has the second largest coral reef on the eastern Pacific. Cabrilas, moorish idols, bicolored parrotfish, white-tipped reef sharks, and many others fishes, as if in a painting! This reef provided living proof of the great biodiversity of this area.
We could have stopped the trip here, happy, but Costa Rica was waiting to show us the wild side. So once back on the ship, we began sailing towards our next destination. While being escorted by pantropical spotted dolphins, we gave a farewell to Panama.
We had spent the night sailing 190 nautical miles from the “paradise of seabirds” towards another great paradise, Isla Coiba National Park. The sun was giving its first rays by the time we arrived at Boca Grande, the mouth of a river on Coiba Island. Each one of us were eager to start this exiting day, so right after the early breakfast we geared up and went to the stern to load the Zodiacs.
Kayakers were the first ones to depart and following them, the Zodiac cruisers. The morning was perfect for these activities – all through the mangroves we could appreciate part of the wild life of the area. Bat falcons, green kingfishers, egrets, ibis, green and black iguanas, and many other species were seen. During this cruise we also began to hear the howl very particular to the endemic species of mantled howler monkey found here, and soon we encountered them resting after eating their breakfast of leaves from the branches of a big Ficus tree.
It was indeed a good way to start the morning, but there was still more to enjoy. Back onboard, we repositioned the Sea Voyager close to an enchanted little islet, “Granito De Oro.” While some went directly to snorkel, others stayed ashore observing the hermit crabs, owners of this islet, feeding on coconuts. This wonderful park has the second largest coral reef on the eastern Pacific. Cabrilas, moorish idols, bicolored parrotfish, white-tipped reef sharks, and many others fishes, as if in a painting! This reef provided living proof of the great biodiversity of this area.
We could have stopped the trip here, happy, but Costa Rica was waiting to show us the wild side. So once back on the ship, we began sailing towards our next destination. While being escorted by pantropical spotted dolphins, we gave a farewell to Panama.
