Isla de Coiba and Granito de Oro, Panama
Our Expedition Leader took pity on us this morning and allowed us to sleep in a little longer. We had spent the night traveling from Costa Rica to Panama’s largest island called Isla de Coiba, located in the Golfo de Chiriqui, a journey of over 100 nautical miles. In 1991, Coiba, which until this year had been the site of a penal colony, became a national park including 270,000 hectares, over which 80% is oceanic.
We came to stop at Granito de Oro which literally translates to “Little Grain of Gold”, a little speck of sand, rock boulders and hermit crabs. Quickly moving into shore, the snorkelers discovered clear, warm waters and calm seas, which is normal here. Taking full advantage of the sunny bright morning, we found ourselves floating in a world full of exotic shapes and patterns of the tropical fish that surrounded us. Schools of butterflyfish flitted about the top of the rocks as they carried on their duties as “cleaner fish.” Many “cleaning stations” exist throughout the reefs worldwide and are important to the health of the fish because these “cleaners” remove dead skin, detritus and parasites from the fish that visit these stations. I was able to get so close to a pufferfish that I had to back up so that it could swim out of its hole! Totally unafraid or bothered by my presence, it slowly swam away .
Huge congregations of grunts flowed in and out of the crevices in the boulders with the gentle surge. A White-Tipped Reef Shark was wedged on the sandy floor of one of these crevices and shared this hole with a Panamic Green Moray Eel. Some of our passengers decided to float above the water in the kayaks and one couple had a huge sea turtle swim right up and around their kayak while they sat there in awe! By afternoon, after a delicious lunch of ribs, corn-on-the-cob and baked potatoes, we had the option of taking a Zodiac cruise to the main island of Coiba for some hiking, or taking Zodiac cruises around the smaller islands close by. Parrots, tanagers, pigeons and manakins were just some of the birds that were spotted on the cruises as well as Capuchin monkeys.
One by one our Zodiac cruises returned to the ship and we congregated topside in the lounge to share our stories of the day. Our little speck of gold was fading fast behind us in a purple haze of a colorful sunset. No “Green Flash” this evening but there is always another opportunity aboard the Sea Voyager as we make our way towards the Panama Canal.
Our Expedition Leader took pity on us this morning and allowed us to sleep in a little longer. We had spent the night traveling from Costa Rica to Panama’s largest island called Isla de Coiba, located in the Golfo de Chiriqui, a journey of over 100 nautical miles. In 1991, Coiba, which until this year had been the site of a penal colony, became a national park including 270,000 hectares, over which 80% is oceanic.
We came to stop at Granito de Oro which literally translates to “Little Grain of Gold”, a little speck of sand, rock boulders and hermit crabs. Quickly moving into shore, the snorkelers discovered clear, warm waters and calm seas, which is normal here. Taking full advantage of the sunny bright morning, we found ourselves floating in a world full of exotic shapes and patterns of the tropical fish that surrounded us. Schools of butterflyfish flitted about the top of the rocks as they carried on their duties as “cleaner fish.” Many “cleaning stations” exist throughout the reefs worldwide and are important to the health of the fish because these “cleaners” remove dead skin, detritus and parasites from the fish that visit these stations. I was able to get so close to a pufferfish that I had to back up so that it could swim out of its hole! Totally unafraid or bothered by my presence, it slowly swam away .
Huge congregations of grunts flowed in and out of the crevices in the boulders with the gentle surge. A White-Tipped Reef Shark was wedged on the sandy floor of one of these crevices and shared this hole with a Panamic Green Moray Eel. Some of our passengers decided to float above the water in the kayaks and one couple had a huge sea turtle swim right up and around their kayak while they sat there in awe! By afternoon, after a delicious lunch of ribs, corn-on-the-cob and baked potatoes, we had the option of taking a Zodiac cruise to the main island of Coiba for some hiking, or taking Zodiac cruises around the smaller islands close by. Parrots, tanagers, pigeons and manakins were just some of the birds that were spotted on the cruises as well as Capuchin monkeys.
One by one our Zodiac cruises returned to the ship and we congregated topside in the lounge to share our stories of the day. Our little speck of gold was fading fast behind us in a purple haze of a colorful sunset. No “Green Flash” this evening but there is always another opportunity aboard the Sea Voyager as we make our way towards the Panama Canal.
