Coiba Marine National Park, Panama
We arrived today in the sheltered waters off Coiba Island in Panama, after an overnight sailing from the Darien. The crystal-clear waters of this incredible marine national park heralded a day full of exciting encounters with the local wildlife, which lived up to our expectations.
Soon after dropping anchor in the southern part of the island, we divided into small groups and headed by Zodiac up the Boca Grande river, a wide estuary fringed with red and tea mangroves. We had great sightings of green and black spiny iguanas, good number of birds, and a small group of the endemic Coiba Howler Monkeys.
In the afternoon we sailed to the nothern end of the park and anchored off the tiny key known as Granito de Oro (“little grain of gold”). The reef fish definitely stole the show with a motley display of colors and shapes. Parrotfish, damselfish, and angelfish were all the starring characters of this underwater spectacle, but there were also great sightings of white-tipped reef sharks.
Later in the afternoon, our galley crew presented us with a delicious barbeque dinner, which we dined on as the last beams of sunlight hit the white sand beach of Granito.
In the evening we sailed to our next exciting destination, Isla Cocos in neighboring Costa Rica.
We arrived today in the sheltered waters off Coiba Island in Panama, after an overnight sailing from the Darien. The crystal-clear waters of this incredible marine national park heralded a day full of exciting encounters with the local wildlife, which lived up to our expectations.
Soon after dropping anchor in the southern part of the island, we divided into small groups and headed by Zodiac up the Boca Grande river, a wide estuary fringed with red and tea mangroves. We had great sightings of green and black spiny iguanas, good number of birds, and a small group of the endemic Coiba Howler Monkeys.
In the afternoon we sailed to the nothern end of the park and anchored off the tiny key known as Granito de Oro (“little grain of gold”). The reef fish definitely stole the show with a motley display of colors and shapes. Parrotfish, damselfish, and angelfish were all the starring characters of this underwater spectacle, but there were also great sightings of white-tipped reef sharks.
Later in the afternoon, our galley crew presented us with a delicious barbeque dinner, which we dined on as the last beams of sunlight hit the white sand beach of Granito.
In the evening we sailed to our next exciting destination, Isla Cocos in neighboring Costa Rica.
