Coiba Island National Park
We arrived with the sunrise to one of the newest National Parks of Panama, eager to go ashore for our first activity of the day. Some of us went kayaking along the coast of Coiba Island while others went for a nice birding lookout from the ranger station. Either activity was more than amazing. Kayakers had a nice welcome from the endemic species of howler monkeys while the birders enjoyed the sighting of the crimson-backed tanager, mangrove hawk, red lore parrot, bananaquits, garden emeralds, red-crowned woodpeckers and so many others. Coiba Island has being protected by law since 2004. Before being declared a National Park, it was a penal colony. Today, it guards the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. With an extension of 271,000 hectares, 50,000 is the main island and the rest is all marine area.
After our morning activities and back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager to a nice little islet called “Granito de Oro.” Just as a Gary Larson cartoon, this little islet is known also because of the amount of hermit crabs that patrol the beach and always approach to see who the new guests are. So after breakfast, with our snorkeling gear in hand, we went to spend the rest of the day enjoying the secrets of the marine life hidden in the waters of this National Park. White tipped reef sharks, Moorish idols, bicolor parrot fish, white cheek surgeon fish, green moray eels, hawksbill turtles and many others painted a nice under water scenario.
Why not stay here forever? Well, we had to get on our way to get to the other wild side of our trip!
We arrived with the sunrise to one of the newest National Parks of Panama, eager to go ashore for our first activity of the day. Some of us went kayaking along the coast of Coiba Island while others went for a nice birding lookout from the ranger station. Either activity was more than amazing. Kayakers had a nice welcome from the endemic species of howler monkeys while the birders enjoyed the sighting of the crimson-backed tanager, mangrove hawk, red lore parrot, bananaquits, garden emeralds, red-crowned woodpeckers and so many others. Coiba Island has being protected by law since 2004. Before being declared a National Park, it was a penal colony. Today, it guards the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. With an extension of 271,000 hectares, 50,000 is the main island and the rest is all marine area.
After our morning activities and back on board, we repositioned the Sea Voyager to a nice little islet called “Granito de Oro.” Just as a Gary Larson cartoon, this little islet is known also because of the amount of hermit crabs that patrol the beach and always approach to see who the new guests are. So after breakfast, with our snorkeling gear in hand, we went to spend the rest of the day enjoying the secrets of the marine life hidden in the waters of this National Park. White tipped reef sharks, Moorish idols, bicolor parrot fish, white cheek surgeon fish, green moray eels, hawksbill turtles and many others painted a nice under water scenario.
Why not stay here forever? Well, we had to get on our way to get to the other wild side of our trip!
