Coiba Island, Panama
After cruising through the night, we set our anchor down on the sandy bottom of Parque Nacional Coiba. The ocean was calm and the day looked full of promise.
We were now visiting Panama’s largest island and in 1991 it became the centerpiece of a 270,000-hectare national park, over 80% of which is oceanic. We had dropped anchor just off the beach of a little island called Granito del Oro and pretty soon we were setting off for the shore. The sky was slightly overcast and provided some relief from the sun. This little speck of sand, rock and trees juts out of the ocean near the main island of Coiba and is a real paradise. It’s inundated with hermit crabs and the kids had a blast observing their behavior. The water looked so inviting and in no time at all, our guests were headed to it with mask and fins in hand. They were not disappointed. Coiba has the second-largest coral reef in the eastern Pacific and some of the finest snorkeling to be found is right here. The water was full of plankton, which provides food for the 69 or so species of fish that inhabit this area. Clouds of juvenile herring and damselfish swarmed across the reef. A large school of an unknown species of jack darted in to feed and then as quickly disappeared into the blue water beyond. Other reports came back of turtle, shark and eel sightings.
And while some were staying cool others were hiking on the main island of Coiba. For the most part, the entire island is covered with virgin forest. Rocky headlands project along the coast and there are some sandy beaches with mangrove forests present at the mouths of the rivers. The Lance-tail Manakin proved to be a hit with our birders. Soon our explorers were chilling in the water off the beach.
After lunch, we repositioned our ship to another part of Coiba to visit the Boca Grande region. Some decided to take the more leisurely tours by Zodiac while others were off paddling upriver by kayak.
As we pulled into the beach at the mouth of the river after our river sojourn, our hotel manager had a little surprise for us. We were greeted with cocktails, refreshments and a glorious sunset! We also happened to witness the migration of the Green Urania moth. Their movement is “down through” Central America and continues unabated for as long as five months. They were everywhere!
We then turned our bow to the north west and started to cruise to the land of Costa Rica.”Pura Vida”!
After cruising through the night, we set our anchor down on the sandy bottom of Parque Nacional Coiba. The ocean was calm and the day looked full of promise.
We were now visiting Panama’s largest island and in 1991 it became the centerpiece of a 270,000-hectare national park, over 80% of which is oceanic. We had dropped anchor just off the beach of a little island called Granito del Oro and pretty soon we were setting off for the shore. The sky was slightly overcast and provided some relief from the sun. This little speck of sand, rock and trees juts out of the ocean near the main island of Coiba and is a real paradise. It’s inundated with hermit crabs and the kids had a blast observing their behavior. The water looked so inviting and in no time at all, our guests were headed to it with mask and fins in hand. They were not disappointed. Coiba has the second-largest coral reef in the eastern Pacific and some of the finest snorkeling to be found is right here. The water was full of plankton, which provides food for the 69 or so species of fish that inhabit this area. Clouds of juvenile herring and damselfish swarmed across the reef. A large school of an unknown species of jack darted in to feed and then as quickly disappeared into the blue water beyond. Other reports came back of turtle, shark and eel sightings.
And while some were staying cool others were hiking on the main island of Coiba. For the most part, the entire island is covered with virgin forest. Rocky headlands project along the coast and there are some sandy beaches with mangrove forests present at the mouths of the rivers. The Lance-tail Manakin proved to be a hit with our birders. Soon our explorers were chilling in the water off the beach.
After lunch, we repositioned our ship to another part of Coiba to visit the Boca Grande region. Some decided to take the more leisurely tours by Zodiac while others were off paddling upriver by kayak.
As we pulled into the beach at the mouth of the river after our river sojourn, our hotel manager had a little surprise for us. We were greeted with cocktails, refreshments and a glorious sunset! We also happened to witness the migration of the Green Urania moth. Their movement is “down through” Central America and continues unabated for as long as five months. They were everywhere!
We then turned our bow to the north west and started to cruise to the land of Costa Rica.”Pura Vida”!
