Coiba Island National Park, Panama
A lovely sunrise gave us a warm welcome to Panama. We had sailed through the night and our eyes began to enjoy the view of Panama’s pristine jewel, Coiba Island National Park. This park gathers eight big islands and about 30 islets. In total, there are 667,479 acres of protected area; around 51,000 acres are just islands and islets, all the rest is marine area. Before the year 2000, the visits were restricted to this area since it was being used as a penal colony since 1919. After being declared a park, the prison camps were shut down and the prisoners were relocated to other jails around the country. Some of the inmates that had completed their sentence became park rangers.
This park has the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. It is, as well, part of the Marine Corridor of the Eastern Pacific which includes Cocos Island from Costa Rica, Malpelo and Gorgona Islands from Colombia and Galápagos from Ecuador. This corridor allows several species of fish to spawn and swim long distances without the fear of being hunted. Having rich waters loaded with nutrients, it is a good place for snorkeling and diving.
After breakfast, we went ashore to one of the islets. This islet is known as “Granito de Oro,” which means “Little Grain of Gold.” It is a small islet with white sand, a few coconut palms and a group of hermit crabs that patrol the islet looking for something to eat. It is the typical scenery of a Gary Larson comic. Surrounding the islet there are nice examples of branch corals and different species of hard coral. This reef allows us to enjoy the different species of fishes that dwell in its water. White tip reef sharks, Moorish idols, Cortez angel fish, yellow snappers, barber fish, green puffers, and many others species were a glimpse of all the diversity that we need to protect!
It had been a wonderful morning! We wanted to stay forever in this hidden paradise but the Sea Voyager had to sail another 190 nautical miles in order to reach the next destination of our trip, the Bay of Panama!
A lovely sunrise gave us a warm welcome to Panama. We had sailed through the night and our eyes began to enjoy the view of Panama’s pristine jewel, Coiba Island National Park. This park gathers eight big islands and about 30 islets. In total, there are 667,479 acres of protected area; around 51,000 acres are just islands and islets, all the rest is marine area. Before the year 2000, the visits were restricted to this area since it was being used as a penal colony since 1919. After being declared a park, the prison camps were shut down and the prisoners were relocated to other jails around the country. Some of the inmates that had completed their sentence became park rangers.
This park has the second biggest coral reef of the Eastern Pacific. It is, as well, part of the Marine Corridor of the Eastern Pacific which includes Cocos Island from Costa Rica, Malpelo and Gorgona Islands from Colombia and Galápagos from Ecuador. This corridor allows several species of fish to spawn and swim long distances without the fear of being hunted. Having rich waters loaded with nutrients, it is a good place for snorkeling and diving.
After breakfast, we went ashore to one of the islets. This islet is known as “Granito de Oro,” which means “Little Grain of Gold.” It is a small islet with white sand, a few coconut palms and a group of hermit crabs that patrol the islet looking for something to eat. It is the typical scenery of a Gary Larson comic. Surrounding the islet there are nice examples of branch corals and different species of hard coral. This reef allows us to enjoy the different species of fishes that dwell in its water. White tip reef sharks, Moorish idols, Cortez angel fish, yellow snappers, barber fish, green puffers, and many others species were a glimpse of all the diversity that we need to protect!
It had been a wonderful morning! We wanted to stay forever in this hidden paradise but the Sea Voyager had to sail another 190 nautical miles in order to reach the next destination of our trip, the Bay of Panama!
