Coiba Island
Our trip has been pretty successful so far; we have transited the Panama Canal, visited the research island of Barro Colorado and experienced a large nesting sea bird colony at the Island of Bona. Our last day in Panama would find us exploring fully the island of Coiba, and its National Park areas nearby. Declared a National Park in 1991, this is one of the most pristine areas of Panama basically for two reasons: its location and its former use.
Coiba, its main island, is not close to mainland Panama, preventing the frequent human activity in the area. It would take up to two hours by speed boat to get here, and it is not an easy ride, anyhow. Secondly, this area was formerly used as a penal colony. Some of the most dangerous criminals spent their prison term in this area, making it less than desirable for tourist development.
Once the government realized how pristine the ecosystems on the island were, not only above water but the marine ecosystem too, the prison was relocated and the area declared a national park. The total extent of the park is close to 270,000 hectares, of which 80% is marine reserve.
Today we had probably the best snorkeling and kayaking experiences of the week as one of the islets, known as Granito de Oro, was the perfect spot for those activities.
We were able to see a lot of beautiful, colorful fish, such as the king angel, bicolor parrot fish, Moorish idols, guineafowl puffers, white-tipped reefs sharks and for some lucky ones, even a hawksbill sea turtle!
For the birders, the nearby area of Coiba was heaven to explore! Our morning walk along the beach gave us great looks at crimson colored tanagers, bard antshrikes, bare throated tiger herons, yellow headed caracaras and even an encounter with an endemic mammal known as the Coiba agouti.
After a wonderful beach BBQ lunch, we had enough time to relax at the beach, explore more of the underwater world and more kayaking.
Not a bad day for our last day in Panama!
