Coiba Island
After a nocturnal navigation, we entered the waters of exotic Panama. Waking up early for bird watching in the Coiba National Park was definitely worth it for those to whom nature is a passion. Considered by the inhabitants of a not-far distant past as “hell,” Coiba Island today seems to us like nothing but pure paradise. It was a prison since the beginning of the 20th century, but now visitors have the chance to see the almost pristine nature that was the cage of the prisoners before it was turned into a national park in 1993. Coiba is today an untamed and still little known corner where beauty gets a new meaning. Simply landing the Zodiacs in the calm waters of the beach where the park rangers station is located is breathtaking. We didn’t have to walk far to start our birding search. Just sitting by the ranger’s garden of forest, we saw antshrikes, tiger-herons, honeycreepers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and an endemic bird of Coiba Island, the brown-backed dove. Another endemic species to the island, a type of agouti (Dasyprocta cohibensi), was also spotted together with green and black iguanas.
Snorkeling in Granito de Oro (The Golden Grain) was like underwater poetry where the amount, variety and impressiveness of the fishes and other inhabitants of the ocean is indescribable. But the morning was not complete without having time to snorkel, play frisbee, swim, kayak or be pulled by our own version of a banana boat.
After lifting anchor, the ship started heading towards the Gulf of Panama, where the richness of its waters blessed us with feeding frenzies, where fish and sea birds were the show. The pantropical spotted dolphins also wanted to be protagonists by swimming with the boat and playing in our wake. Tunafish, sea turtles and some species of billfish were also seen. Well, that is what I would call another successful day on board the Sea Voyager!
After a nocturnal navigation, we entered the waters of exotic Panama. Waking up early for bird watching in the Coiba National Park was definitely worth it for those to whom nature is a passion. Considered by the inhabitants of a not-far distant past as “hell,” Coiba Island today seems to us like nothing but pure paradise. It was a prison since the beginning of the 20th century, but now visitors have the chance to see the almost pristine nature that was the cage of the prisoners before it was turned into a national park in 1993. Coiba is today an untamed and still little known corner where beauty gets a new meaning. Simply landing the Zodiacs in the calm waters of the beach where the park rangers station is located is breathtaking. We didn’t have to walk far to start our birding search. Just sitting by the ranger’s garden of forest, we saw antshrikes, tiger-herons, honeycreepers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and an endemic bird of Coiba Island, the brown-backed dove. Another endemic species to the island, a type of agouti (Dasyprocta cohibensi), was also spotted together with green and black iguanas.
Snorkeling in Granito de Oro (The Golden Grain) was like underwater poetry where the amount, variety and impressiveness of the fishes and other inhabitants of the ocean is indescribable. But the morning was not complete without having time to snorkel, play frisbee, swim, kayak or be pulled by our own version of a banana boat.
After lifting anchor, the ship started heading towards the Gulf of Panama, where the richness of its waters blessed us with feeding frenzies, where fish and sea birds were the show. The pantropical spotted dolphins also wanted to be protagonists by swimming with the boat and playing in our wake. Tunafish, sea turtles and some species of billfish were also seen. Well, that is what I would call another successful day on board the Sea Voyager!
