Isla Coiba
During the night we left the beautiful Costa Rica behind, our destination neighboring Panama. Both these countries are part of southern Central America, a geologically young land whose spectacular scenery is a constant reminder of the violent movements of our earth’s crust.
We awoke surrounded once more by lush tropical rainforests and beautiful beaches, this time belonging to the large Panamanian island of Coiba located in the southwestern part of the Chiriqui Gulf and surrounded by several smaller islets. Coiba’s natural beauty has long been appreciated, despite a tortured history as a penal colony; and in fact the area was declared a National Park in 1991, occupying a total territory of approximately 270 hectares, of which 53 are landmass, the rest a marine reserve – one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
In this area we have some of the most extensive coral reef formations in the Eastern Pacific – normally poor in reefs due to turbid coastal waters related to rich upwellings, that in turn support important pelagic fisheries. One of the islets surrounding Coiba is a particular favorite of ours, and has been since we first started visiting the area, now about 10 years ago. Its name is “Granito de Oro”, which literally translates as “Little Grain of Gold” – and what an appropriate name it is! It is an incredibly picturesque little islet, complete with a couple of palm trees, golden sand and innumerable hermit crabs; straight out of a caricature!
We could chose to either hike through the forest of the main island, relax on the little beach, ride kayaks around the islet or don snorkeling gear to explore the underwater world. Though the water was on the murky side today, in the typically unpredictable way of the ocean, a bewildering array of marine life could be seen as we dove down amongst the corals, rays, eels and countless tropical reef fish.
During the night we left the beautiful Costa Rica behind, our destination neighboring Panama. Both these countries are part of southern Central America, a geologically young land whose spectacular scenery is a constant reminder of the violent movements of our earth’s crust.
We awoke surrounded once more by lush tropical rainforests and beautiful beaches, this time belonging to the large Panamanian island of Coiba located in the southwestern part of the Chiriqui Gulf and surrounded by several smaller islets. Coiba’s natural beauty has long been appreciated, despite a tortured history as a penal colony; and in fact the area was declared a National Park in 1991, occupying a total territory of approximately 270 hectares, of which 53 are landmass, the rest a marine reserve – one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
In this area we have some of the most extensive coral reef formations in the Eastern Pacific – normally poor in reefs due to turbid coastal waters related to rich upwellings, that in turn support important pelagic fisheries. One of the islets surrounding Coiba is a particular favorite of ours, and has been since we first started visiting the area, now about 10 years ago. Its name is “Granito de Oro”, which literally translates as “Little Grain of Gold” – and what an appropriate name it is! It is an incredibly picturesque little islet, complete with a couple of palm trees, golden sand and innumerable hermit crabs; straight out of a caricature!
We could chose to either hike through the forest of the main island, relax on the little beach, ride kayaks around the islet or don snorkeling gear to explore the underwater world. Though the water was on the murky side today, in the typically unpredictable way of the ocean, a bewildering array of marine life could be seen as we dove down amongst the corals, rays, eels and countless tropical reef fish.
