The sun rose while National Geographic Sea Lion anchored in Coiba National Park right in front of a tiny little white sandy beach island called Granito de Oro. A gorgeous place located just next to the principal island, where later we began to explore the coral reef richness protected here.
Coiba National Park is the second most important coral reef in the western Pacific and within its 55,000 hectares are protected not only several endemic species of flora and fauna, but also a rich multicolored ecosystem. That is why in 2005, just one year after closing its doors as a penal colony, the park was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Its beauty and biological importance for Panama and the world made our visit very special.
This place offered a great and unique opportunity for snorkeling and underwater nature photography. Right after breakfast all guests began the outing of the day. As soon as we reached the beach, the young explorers rapidly prepared their snorkeling gear. They were escorted by other members of their families entering the crystal waters that surround Granito de Oro. There they found bicolored parrotfish, king angelfish, sergeant majors, and damselfish, among others.
Later, when it was time for lunch, all guests returned to the vessel and we repositioned in front of the ranger station at Coiba Island, where the galley offered us a delicious picnic lunch. The very well protected bay gave us another opportunity for late swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and last but not least, some inland exploration for those that wanted to take the chance to see a bit of the flora and fauna that surrounds the station.
It is hard to think that such an incredible place was used before as a penal island and that, thanks to the limited access and the previous controls, most of the flora, fauna, and marine wildlife was kept from any further development and the impact that it may cause. In fact, slowly but steadily, any previous impact have been diminished and reverted to its natural conditions.
Such a fantastic day ended with all guests on board enjoying social hour and sailing towards of our next adventures that would be take place in Costa Rica.
