Isla Coiba, Panama
Our last day in Panama was spent visiting a true jewel of a national park: Coiba Island. It was pretty much uninhabited until 1919, when the Panamanian government established a penal colony here. Over 20 penal camps were set up here over the last 70 years, and numbers of prisoners reached over a thousand at certain times. This situation remained untouched until just a couple of years ago and, until then, many of the visits were made with armed guards, just in case!
This unattractive-sounding situation had a great positive impact on the island however, as it has remained pristine and beautiful over the years, a fact that has earned it a well-deserved reputation as one of the most outstanding natural areas in Central America. It is a continental island, which means that it is near enough to the mainland to have been connected by a land bridge at least once during the Ice Age, when sea levels dropped significantly. Flora and fauna from the neighbouring land mass could thus cross at this time, meaning that it is as biologically diverse as the rest of Central America. However, it has also been isolated for at least 10000 years, during which time many species evolved to become endemic, at least at a sub-species level.
As a marine biologist, with a particular area of expertise in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, I really enjoy this visit as it brings us to the only well-developed coral reefs in the area. Along the whole Pacific coast of Central and South America, strong currents combined with winds and the Coriolis force cause much upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich waters. These are the basis of a rich pelagic food chain, which renders the waters turbid and is counter-productive for the formation of reefs. In fact, there are only about 8 or 9 genera of hermatypic (reef-building) corals in this area, of which 3 are common around Coiba. Compared to 30 or 40 genera in the Caribbean and over 70 in the Indo-Pacific, this is really quite poor, but the abundance of brilliantly coloured reef fish, and larger pelagic marine creatures such as tuna, sharks, turtles, cetaceans and birds more than make up for it.
After spending a couple of hours exploring the terrestrial environment with a variety of walk options, we spent the rest of the day snorkeling in the clear, warm waters surrounding the islet of Granito de Oro – “Little Grain Of Gold”. For many of us, this proved to be the best marine experience ever had, and the list of species we observed was interminable, truly something to treasure.
Our last day in Panama was spent visiting a true jewel of a national park: Coiba Island. It was pretty much uninhabited until 1919, when the Panamanian government established a penal colony here. Over 20 penal camps were set up here over the last 70 years, and numbers of prisoners reached over a thousand at certain times. This situation remained untouched until just a couple of years ago and, until then, many of the visits were made with armed guards, just in case!
This unattractive-sounding situation had a great positive impact on the island however, as it has remained pristine and beautiful over the years, a fact that has earned it a well-deserved reputation as one of the most outstanding natural areas in Central America. It is a continental island, which means that it is near enough to the mainland to have been connected by a land bridge at least once during the Ice Age, when sea levels dropped significantly. Flora and fauna from the neighbouring land mass could thus cross at this time, meaning that it is as biologically diverse as the rest of Central America. However, it has also been isolated for at least 10000 years, during which time many species evolved to become endemic, at least at a sub-species level.
As a marine biologist, with a particular area of expertise in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, I really enjoy this visit as it brings us to the only well-developed coral reefs in the area. Along the whole Pacific coast of Central and South America, strong currents combined with winds and the Coriolis force cause much upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich waters. These are the basis of a rich pelagic food chain, which renders the waters turbid and is counter-productive for the formation of reefs. In fact, there are only about 8 or 9 genera of hermatypic (reef-building) corals in this area, of which 3 are common around Coiba. Compared to 30 or 40 genera in the Caribbean and over 70 in the Indo-Pacific, this is really quite poor, but the abundance of brilliantly coloured reef fish, and larger pelagic marine creatures such as tuna, sharks, turtles, cetaceans and birds more than make up for it.
After spending a couple of hours exploring the terrestrial environment with a variety of walk options, we spent the rest of the day snorkeling in the clear, warm waters surrounding the islet of Granito de Oro – “Little Grain Of Gold”. For many of us, this proved to be the best marine experience ever had, and the list of species we observed was interminable, truly something to treasure.
