Coiba National Park
Today we had our last day in Panama and what a day it was! The morning found us anchored in front of the island named Granito de Oro which belongs to the National Park known as Coiba. This is Panama’s largest island of about 493-sq-km and the protected area is about 270,000 hectare of which about 80% is oceanic. The main island was once a Devil’s Island being used as a penal colony for the country. But since 1991 it was declared a national park, thanks to its beauty and rich flora and fauna as well as its rich waters that are the home for the second largest eastern Pacific coral reef.
Today we started with a trail hike and a birding hike right on the main island. Many of us had an opportunity to see some of the inhabitants of this incredible place such as lance-tailed manakins, crimson-back tanagers, white-throated capuchin monkeys, and king vultures.
But the best of Coiba was awaiting us under its waters. Once we got to the beach of Granito de Oro (grain of gold), an island that looks like some thing out of the Gary Larson cartoon, we had a chance to get in to our snorkeling gear and explore the underwater life of this place. Quickly we found out the little “grain of gold” island had more life under the water than above. We had a chance of see the coral reef, one of the richest ecosystems on our world. We got great looks of different types of fish like parrotfish, king angelfish, butterfly fish, and the morrish idol fish which is only found in the eastern Pacific. This species is now quite popular after having been seen as the character of Gil in the movie “Finding Nemo.”
After our great afternoon at Coiba, the Sea Voyager started to sail to Costa Rica. After cruising for just a short distance we found out that the surprises weren’t over. A fin whale crossed our course just to give us the last good bye to Panama and the welcoming to Costa Rica.
Today we had our last day in Panama and what a day it was! The morning found us anchored in front of the island named Granito de Oro which belongs to the National Park known as Coiba. This is Panama’s largest island of about 493-sq-km and the protected area is about 270,000 hectare of which about 80% is oceanic. The main island was once a Devil’s Island being used as a penal colony for the country. But since 1991 it was declared a national park, thanks to its beauty and rich flora and fauna as well as its rich waters that are the home for the second largest eastern Pacific coral reef.
Today we started with a trail hike and a birding hike right on the main island. Many of us had an opportunity to see some of the inhabitants of this incredible place such as lance-tailed manakins, crimson-back tanagers, white-throated capuchin monkeys, and king vultures.
But the best of Coiba was awaiting us under its waters. Once we got to the beach of Granito de Oro (grain of gold), an island that looks like some thing out of the Gary Larson cartoon, we had a chance to get in to our snorkeling gear and explore the underwater life of this place. Quickly we found out the little “grain of gold” island had more life under the water than above. We had a chance of see the coral reef, one of the richest ecosystems on our world. We got great looks of different types of fish like parrotfish, king angelfish, butterfly fish, and the morrish idol fish which is only found in the eastern Pacific. This species is now quite popular after having been seen as the character of Gil in the movie “Finding Nemo.”
After our great afternoon at Coiba, the Sea Voyager started to sail to Costa Rica. After cruising for just a short distance we found out that the surprises weren’t over. A fin whale crossed our course just to give us the last good bye to Panama and the welcoming to Costa Rica.
