Coiba Island & Granito de Oro
As the first sunlight announced the break of another magnificent day on our expedition, our always eager guests prepared for an early wet landing outing in Coiba Island. Those who went ashore enjoyed the pleasure of an almost deserted site, accompanied only by the fresh sounds of awakening nature around them. The Coiba National Park covers over 2,700 square kilometers of islands, forests, beaches, mangroves and coral reefs. Approximately eighty-five percent of the forests of Coiba Island are primary and almost untouched, serving as a haven for birds and mammals found nowhere else on Earth, as well as for species that have largely disappeared from the mainland. The remarkable preservation of Coiba Island is largely due to its past use as a penal colony since 1920. The prisoners did serve as a strong disincentive to colonization by peasants and to the extraction of the island's abundant resources. Due to the pristine nature of the island and its surrounding oceans, Coiba was declared a National Park by the Panamanian government in 1992. Coiba Island and the surrounding waters are an extraordinary storage area of biological wealth. Coiba Island is a refuge for 147 bird species, including twenty-one endemic species and subspecies. Equally important is the island's role as a refuge for species that have largely disappeared from the rest of Panama, such as the Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis) and the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao).
During most of the morning, our cheerful guests spent their time snorkeling, kayaking, swimming or simply relaxing on the paradisiacal beach of Granito de Oro, our own little piece of heaven on earth! The crystal clear environs permitted our guests to experience sensational underwater scenes. White-tip sharks, turtles and an endless array of multicolor tropical fish kindly delighted our demanding audience. A group of avid kayakers also had the opportunity to enjoy every corner of the island by simply paddling around it.
After a succulent lunch served by our crew at the beach, we sadly said good bye to Coiba Island while we started a new segment of our fascinating expedition in Costa Rica-Panama. All too soon, we were on our way towards Panama Canal waters and all the exciting adventures yet to come.
