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.....
Today's post is an artsy one. I took these shots durng our Panama trip, but I saved them for a later time. The day I took these pics, we were boating on a clear blue ocean. The sky was an intense turquoise and the ocean a reddy brown.
This photo shoot was one of my favorites as the sun was intense. Some of the pictures remind me of FKH Photo Journal. I love Kathy's pics and unique focus on the little details that are all around us. Many of her pictures center around our core feelings and the past. This narrative takes place near the area where the Coiba island prison once stood. Today, as you can see, the concrete pillars of the pier are all that remains to remind us that there once was a prison population here.
Sandwich Terns
These seabirds are cool. There was a bit of green on them, but I wasn't able to capture that in the shots. Once of the trickiest things about taking pictures is figuring out which shot is the best one to post!!
I saw a lot of geometric shape with color and nature. As our boat was approaching shore, I had to think quick or miss the shot. I don't know why, but I really love these photos.
There are many places on this Earth that are extremely beautiful. Coiba Island and her mostly untouched forests will enchant you and take you to another time and space. My personal opinion is that this island will become the next "Galapagos Island" for travelers.
But for today, while sitting at work, these pics take me back to the beautiful country of Panama.
I absolutely love the moon and I'm never bored by all the shapes, colors and sizes it makes in our beautiful skies around the world. Here are some shots of the moon from the virgen rain forests of the Coiba Island chain off of the Panama Coast in the Pacific Ocean.
I've saved several of these artsy shots from my photo shoots this past summer for later posts. It's nice to revisit the trip from this beautiful country again. There's nothing like seeing the moon and knowing that we are a but a speck in the cosmos. In one part of the word where the moon is just as visible, there are cars beeping their horns on busy highways. Yet here I saw that same moon surrounded by a tropical rain forest....and that thought brought a smile to my face.
Written on the tiny Isla Granito de Oro. 11:30 AM 19/6/2011
"I'm stranded on the tiny Isla Granito de Oro. Basically, it's a hill in the middle of the emerald green ocean full of crabs and frigatebirds. A patch of forest stands behind me as I sit on this very high traffic beach full of hermit crabs. As I sit in the warm sand, hundreds of them have changed their course towards me! However, they never get brave enough to crawl on me. Curious little creatures! My friends are snorkeling and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. I take my camera around this tiny island and snap shots here and there.
I can't imagine it would be a lot of fun getting stranded on an island because it's hot and humid with very little shade. And the shade that does exist is within the thick vegetation full of critters! There's lots of water, but it's all the wrong kind. Too salty. I sit under a mangrove tree watching the thousands of hermit crabs climb all over as they scavenge the beach for anything edible...or find a bigger shell to call home.
I physically walked around this little island in a matter of 10 minutes. The center part has a large portion of trees. Another side is all rocks full of large black crabs which connects to a smaller grassy knoll. The tide is low, but when it's high, the large sandy beach disappears. While we've been here in these briefest hours, I'm shocked at how much wildlife I've already seen. My friends are witnessing the great coral reefs around these islands, but I'm also getting a fantastic look above ground. We've spent months planning for this trip looking specifically for isolated places in Panama. Many of these trips require an experienced guide to help us fully see everything in these far reaching paradises.
This kind of trip isn't for everyone. It's only a matter of time before I can't do these things anymore. I like getting older and I love travel. But I'm also beginning to like comfort more now as well. Certain countries require things from the traveller. There's a reason why these places are isolated! I'm not saying that this particular type of trip will soon end as I still have another 10 years before I retire into the European style travel:) That's why I did Machu Picchu in 2008. The Inca Trail was tough for me, but when I saw 80 year olds hike past me, I was motivated to push my limitations. But our guide, Javier, told us why many birders won't come to this pristine and fabulous feathered kingdom.....it's too wild. I understand most of you birders because I do like my bed and breakfasts, but you need to know that this Coiba island experience was amazing:). You'll see different kinds of birds here that you wouldn't spot on Pipeline Road in Gamboa....like the Scarlet Macaw!! Javier is an avid birder who is a magnet for these feathered creatures as he whistles his magical tunes.....and they come.
A hermit crab snaps me back from my ramblings. Who knows if I'll ever be back here again? But it doesn't matter because I'm here now....on this little island of gold."
Off to snorkeling above....
The rocky side of the island which is covered by water during the high tide.
Shells, among other things, are protected in the national park system. So no souvenirs for home except pictures:)
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