National Geographic Sea Lion navigated 120 nautical miles from Costa Rica during the night in order to reach Coiba Island National Park in Panama. At the crack of dawn we were bordering the biggest island of the park. Our naturalist turned on the bow cam, just for the fun. Suddenly the screen began to reveal a pod of pantropical spotted dolphins bow riding. What a wake-up surprise! We were arriving to our morning destination escorted by these marine mammals.
Coiba Island used to be a prison camp since 1914, but the area was declared a national park in the year 2000. All the prisoners were relocated to different jails around the country. This park holds among its treasures the second largest coral reef of the tropical eastern Pacific. Today, Coiba Island National Park is part of a very important marine corridor that connects with Cocos Island, in Costa Rica, Coiba Island in Panama and goes down to the Galápagos in Ecuador.
During breakfast we heard the anchor being dropped. We had finally arrived. As soon as possible we ran to our rooms to grab our gear and head to the fantail. Our eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. We had anchored next to a little islet, very similar to the one in Gary Larson’s comic, “The Far Side.” This islet is known as “little bullion of gold,” Granito de Oro.
On shore, we had several options to enjoy the morning. Kayaking, snorkeling or just trying to take pictures of the unstoppable hermit crabs were the options. We geared up and went snorkeling. As in a parade, the fish began to swim so close to us. A unique sighting for some snorkelers was a sea star known as the crown of thorns. This sea star, in spite of its beauty, preys on coral.
It was just a wonderful morning and as much as we wanted to stay, we needed to get back on board; we had to navigate 190 nautical miles in order to get to our next destination, the Panama Canal!
