After exploring Bona and Otoque islands, the National Geographic Sea Lion arrived at Coiba National Park. Located in a very remote part of Panama, Coiba had once been a prison, built in 1919 to isolate criminals from other Panamanians. It was a sustainable prison where inmates had to work hard. From 1968 to 1989, when Panama lived under a military system, it was the home of several political prisoners. It was known as Devil’s Island and Panamanians were afraid to go near. For this reason, Coiba’s 700,000 acres has remained intact, with places that have not been explored yet. Native vegetation covers about 80 percent of the island. It also features mangroves, white sand beaches and several endemic species.
Exploring this beautiful and mysterious place, we soon reached a small island called Granito De Oro, where we had the chance to snorkel among the coral reefs. Snorkelers swam among the many kinds of fish including parrotfish and sea turtles and sharks. Other guests took the opportunity to kayak around this small island, enjoying sun and sand. It was a good way to start the day.
After a beautiful morning, we went back onboard and navigated to the park’s ranger station. Our galley had set up a nice picnic lunch here. After a post-lunch rest, our naturalist guided us to green iguanas, black iguanas, black vulture, yellow-faced grassquit, white throated-capuchin monkeys, and the endemic specie of agouti.
Back onboard National Geographic Sea Lion, Christopher Baker gave us an introduction to our next destination. Costa Rica, here we come!
