Isla Coiba & Granito de Oro
Today is our last day in Panama and we were in one of the most beautiful place in this country, the Isla Coiba National Park. This protected area is located in the southwestern part of the Chiriquí Gulf and is surrounded by several smaller islets. Coiba’s natural beauty has long been appreciated, despite a tortured history as a penal colony. As a matter of fact, the area was declared a national park in 1991, occupying a total territory of approximately 270 hectares, of which 53 are landmass; the rest is a marine reserve. Isla Coiba is among the largest marine protected areas in the world.
One of the islets surrounding Coiba is a particular favorite of ours. Its name is “Granito de Oro,” which literally translates as “Little Grain of Gold” – and what an appropriate name it is! It is an incredibly picturesque little islet, complete with a couple of palm trees, golden sand and innumerable hermit crabs.
Flitting among these corals were thousands of colorful reef fish, such as Panamic sergeant major, scissor tail chronis, bicolor parrot fish, guineafowl puffers fish, and Moorish idols. The great highlight of our day, however, was snorkeling amongst those most perfectly adapted predators of the sea: the sharks.
Sharks belong to the Elasmobranchii, or the cartilaginous fishes. The species we encountered was a harmless one, called the white-tipped reef shark (Triaenodon obesus), due to the white tip crowning the dorsal and anal fins. We remained enchanted by the fluidity of the movements of these majestic creatures, and couldn’t help feeling the tragedy befalling them, as even though only 10 out of the over 250 species of sharks are potentially dangerous, they are all affected by the stigma shadowing them.
We have all been changed by today’s experience! During the night we left the beautiful Panama behind, our destination neighboring Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
To see footage from this day, please click here.
