Isla Coiba, Panama
We left Costa Rica behind last night, and entered the country of Panama. Our first stop was at Isla Coiba, the largest island on the Pacific coast of Central America, and what a beautiful place it was! Once a penal colony, that infamous past has ensured the island is still in pristine condition, and now it has been declared a National Park, covering both the island and the waters that surround it. It was these waters that were the main attraction for us today.
We also offered a bird-watching episode on the main island, but it was Granito de Oro, the small jewel pictured above, that stole our hearts this morning. The fine sand, the turquoise waters, and the myriad of creatures we saw beneath the waves. There were parrotfish, Moorish idols, grunts, snappers, moray eels and white-tipped reef sharks, there were corals and puffer-fish, the list goes on and on. We spent the whole morning here, the longer we spent, the more difficult it was to leave! But leave we must, as tomorrow beckons and our entry into the Panama Canal. So we spent the afternoon sailing towards the Gulf of Panama, always watching for dolphins and sea-turtles and we saw both.
A great way indeed, to begin our adventures in Panama.
We left Costa Rica behind last night, and entered the country of Panama. Our first stop was at Isla Coiba, the largest island on the Pacific coast of Central America, and what a beautiful place it was! Once a penal colony, that infamous past has ensured the island is still in pristine condition, and now it has been declared a National Park, covering both the island and the waters that surround it. It was these waters that were the main attraction for us today.
We also offered a bird-watching episode on the main island, but it was Granito de Oro, the small jewel pictured above, that stole our hearts this morning. The fine sand, the turquoise waters, and the myriad of creatures we saw beneath the waves. There were parrotfish, Moorish idols, grunts, snappers, moray eels and white-tipped reef sharks, there were corals and puffer-fish, the list goes on and on. We spent the whole morning here, the longer we spent, the more difficult it was to leave! But leave we must, as tomorrow beckons and our entry into the Panama Canal. So we spent the afternoon sailing towards the Gulf of Panama, always watching for dolphins and sea-turtles and we saw both.
A great way indeed, to begin our adventures in Panama.
