Coiba Island National Park
After sailing 190 nautical miles, we arrived to Coiba National Park. This is one of the jewels of Panama. Before being declared a National Park, Coiba Island was used as a penal colony. For this reason, Coiba has conserved its pristine environment. It has the second biggest coral reef of the eastern Pacific. The area’s extension is 271,000 hectares, and only 51,000 hectares is main land; the rest is all marine area.
We just couldn’t hold ourselves together after seeing the nice view we had from the ship: a small little islet that is part of the park! As taken from a Gary Larson comic, this islet is known as Granito the Oro, patrolled by a big group of hermit crabs. They march through the white sands and around a couple of Palm trees looking for something to eat. A nice coral reef surrounds the islet and is the home of different species of reef fish. This is just a small and lovely paradise!
With our snorkeling gear in hand, we went to explore the premises of the islet. Big schools of Crevail jacks were hunting and paid no attention to our presence. While groups of guest were snorkeling, others decided to try a little bit of kayaking. Crystal clear and cool waters surround the area, allowing us to have a good visibility. Cornet reef fish, white tipped shark, trigger fish, damselflies, bicolor parrot fish and many others proved to use why the park is a great jewel!
Close to lunch, we return to the ship and sailed towards the ranger station of the park. A delicious barbecue was waiting for us. Birds sang to us while we were having our lunch. Right after lunch, we explored the premises of the station while another group decided to do a little bit of kayaking.
A group of white-faced capuchin monkeys showed up to give us a farewell. For some of us, this was like a true paradise. We could have easily stayed longer, but we all knew that more adventures are to come once that we reach our next destination, Costa Rica!
After sailing 190 nautical miles, we arrived to Coiba National Park. This is one of the jewels of Panama. Before being declared a National Park, Coiba Island was used as a penal colony. For this reason, Coiba has conserved its pristine environment. It has the second biggest coral reef of the eastern Pacific. The area’s extension is 271,000 hectares, and only 51,000 hectares is main land; the rest is all marine area.
We just couldn’t hold ourselves together after seeing the nice view we had from the ship: a small little islet that is part of the park! As taken from a Gary Larson comic, this islet is known as Granito the Oro, patrolled by a big group of hermit crabs. They march through the white sands and around a couple of Palm trees looking for something to eat. A nice coral reef surrounds the islet and is the home of different species of reef fish. This is just a small and lovely paradise!
With our snorkeling gear in hand, we went to explore the premises of the islet. Big schools of Crevail jacks were hunting and paid no attention to our presence. While groups of guest were snorkeling, others decided to try a little bit of kayaking. Crystal clear and cool waters surround the area, allowing us to have a good visibility. Cornet reef fish, white tipped shark, trigger fish, damselflies, bicolor parrot fish and many others proved to use why the park is a great jewel!
Close to lunch, we return to the ship and sailed towards the ranger station of the park. A delicious barbecue was waiting for us. Birds sang to us while we were having our lunch. Right after lunch, we explored the premises of the station while another group decided to do a little bit of kayaking.
A group of white-faced capuchin monkeys showed up to give us a farewell. For some of us, this was like a true paradise. We could have easily stayed longer, but we all knew that more adventures are to come once that we reach our next destination, Costa Rica!
