Looking Back-Coiba Island

Black Headed Vulture

Today we glimpse the rare and exciting island of Coiba.   For many people, this island is too expensive or too difficult to reach.  But for us, this wild untouched piece of the world was the most exciting part of our Panama visit.  One of the last remaining groups of Scarlet Macaws live on this island of Panama.  For action birders, this is definitely worth your time and money.  It's a difficult ride into this marine corridor for some and even more difficult for people who have physical limitations getting on and off a boat.  And I have to admit, the mud was pretty bad on some of the hills preventing me from rising to the top. At one point, I almost stepped near Tito...a Saltwater Croc!

It was cloudy and grey most of the time, but the wildlife was abundant and EVERYWHERE!  And if you want to see all of this incredible life, you'll need to pack excellent footwear.  Water shoes for going in and out of boats. Flip flops for the brief and cold shower.  Strong spiked boots to climb the muddy paths.  Maybe even rubber boots?  It was muddy!  Because I didn't have the good boots, I was limited to where I could walk on the island.

Coiba Island from our boat

Like something out of the Lost World, the island was covered in vines and forest.  Some of the most amazing life can be found here....which includes a special kind of Howler Monkey and algae that may cure cancer....both endemic to this island.

A Ringed Kingfisher on Coiba Island

At night, we would have a lovely dinner together along the beach where we would watch this Kingfisher look for things swimming along the shore.  Sit.  Watch.  Fly. Swoop Down. Grab. And do it all over again.  It was one of the many things to observe along the beach. We swam keeping our eyes open for the singular crocs floating like logs in the ocean.  Thankfully they're territorial and don't congregate in great numbers around certain areas.  There is a secret river that flows through the island which is difficult to reach full of them.  A study continues on this interesting reptile.

A weird pic of me but I am loving the hike.  The sounds are incredible in this primary rainforest.  And this pic below!!!  Why didn't I post this number last year??  Oh I could kick myself.  The reason?  I thought it was boring. 

Tropical Kingbird

That's why it was nice digging through the albums again and posting the things that I thought, at the time, were rubbish.   And it would be here that my work would get notice.  A Brazillian Professor will be publishing some of my work from this island in a book about UNESCO sites around the world in January.  Excited?  Oh yes! 

There were beautiful untouched views everywhere.  This island is protected and studied by the Smithsonian Institute.  If you go during the right time of year, you'll see whales.  I searched and searched and searched.....one of my life's goals is to photograph this amazing creature.  But as for sea turtles?  Wow!!  Everywhere.

Capuchin Monkey

Again, here is a shot that would have been clear with my current camera.  It was blurred so I never posted it.  It's the Capuchin monkey. They had no problem throwing mangos at our building and waking us up:)  We'd come outside and they'd quickly run into the tree tops.  I tracked this guy and had this shot until he spotted me and quickly disappeared:)

On top of Coiba Island overlooking the ocean

And check out this view!!!  That little clearing is where we stayed.  Note the 3 tiny islands in the distance.  They are great for scuba diving!    Again this whole area is protected as a marine corridor.   Beginning from the bird islands from the Mexican waters down to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.  This corridor is studied for whale and sea turtle migration, but sharks, etc are also studied.

For now I leave you with a cheesy pic and two mini vids from our adventures to Coiba Island.  More tomorrow.....

Brown-backed(Gray-headed) Dove on Coiba