Coiba National Park
After cruising all night long we have reached our first destination within Panamanian borders. The first rays of sun gave us an idyllic view of one of the largest islands on the Pacific side of Central America, and one of the gems of conservation of the system of national parks in Panama.
Coiba National Park is one of the best ways to introduce the richness of the ecosystems that are still present in the Panamanian territory. Declared and officially established in 1990, with more than seven thousand acres of marine and land ecosystems, housing the second largest coral reef formation of the eastern pacific and a big amount of endemism, Coiba National Park gave us the warmest welcome. The amazing conservation status of the island was essentially because the Panamanian government decided to use the location as a penal colony from 1919 until 2001, and certainly this kept away the colonizers from establishing on the island.
Later, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is incessantly patrolled by the ANAM (National Authority for Conservation) and many NGOs. Among the most important is MarViva, because the well being of this park is also important for the marine corridor that it is part of, which comes all the way from the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, Malpelo in Colombia, and Cocos Islands in Costa Rica.
After a delicious breakfast we all got ready for disembarkation in one of the smallest of the islets within the park. Its name is Granito de Oro (Litlle Grain of Gold), from where we all swam off into the crystal clear waters in which we spent most of the morning. Some of us took the kayaks and we explored the island surroundings while others snorkeled. The fish were vivid and abundant, parrot fish, Moorish idols, snappers, and surgeon fish, among others, were easily spotted. White tipped reef sharks were also seen resting on the corals reefs.
After this exciting morning we repositioned our vessel towards the main island of Coiba where a delicious picnic lunch awaited us. Right after we finished with lunch we started cruising towards our next destination, the Gulf of Panama and the Panama Canal.
Hasta mañana.
