After sailing around Azuero Peninsula, we reached our destination in the Gulf of Chiriqui. Coiba Island is the largest island in Central America and the third largest protected marine area in the world. Coiba Island is definitely a complete destination where you can combine water activities with rainforest walks, photography and even some great bird watching.
This morning, National Geographic Sea Lion dropped anchor adjacent to the vivid islet of Granito de Oro. It is a rocky formation with placid waters, light colored sand with hundreds of hermit crabs and tropical warm water temperatures. Most of our guests decided to participate in our water activities, however, another group was determined to explore Coiba’s rainforest walking “Los Monos” trail.
After our busy morning it was time to reposition to the park ranger headquarters. Located just 4 miles way from Granito de Oro, the ranger station is situated on the main island. This time our hotel department organized a picnic lunch by the beach. The splendid view of the ocean while we were enjoying our meal was breathtaking and unquestionably the perfect scenario of a tropical paradise.
We concluded our afternoon with paddle boarding lessons and a walk on the premises, the main objective was to discover the birds and some good photo opportunities. The bird life of the main island is abundant and some of our avid bird watchers were gratified with special sightings including crimson-backed tanagers, rufous capped warbler, streaked saltator, among others.
We certainly enjoyed our last day in Panama; tomorrow we will explore the remote sections of continental Costa Rica.
