The Forgotten Garden

A small river runs into the ocean from the forest.  By night, the ocean covers this beach and invites creatures like saltwater crocs to enter the smaller island.

I sit today on the smaller island known as Coibitas off the main and larger Coiba Island.  I'm enjoying the breeze because as of late, we've been hiking nonstop into the muddy and sometimes dangerous paths of the Coiba forests. It's fun!  We've had to watch for saltwater crocs, keep our camelpacks full of water, and dry out our sweaty clothes which weren't usually dry due to a random rain event or the constant humidity that just hung in the air.  When I look from where I'm sitting, there's nothing but islands covered in emerald green rain forest which goes as far as the eye can see.  These islands harbor large areas of pristine coral reefs and are protected by the fragile mangrove forests that line the island coasts. This area is a protected corridor and of huge importance to marine life that are teeming with fish, whales, turtles, sharks, and many other sea creatures.

A guide and boat are essential to appreciate the large expanse of Coiba National Park.

I keep a lookout for a croc as we had found tracks on the beach near where I am sitting.  These huge reptiles are sneaky and blend in with their surroundings.  It's when you least expect it that they appear from out of nowhere.  Yesterday, during my mangrove shoot, my heart almost stopped when I saw one of these animals.  He was only a couple meters from me and I won't forget that experience anytime soon.  I'm glad our guide, Javier was with us on these treks.  To fully appreciate this trip, you'll need a guide and boat to get to some of these places which are difficult to reach. So today I keep my eyes open as I begin my story about the Shah and his forgotten garden.

The ladder to cross the stream into the forgotten garden. Scary!

Almost every island has an interesting history with it.  Coibitas is no exception.  Our story takes place in the 1970's.  The last of the Iranian Shahs purchased this island for his tropical getaway. Most of Coibita(then called La Ranchería) was untouched except for the place where the Shah built his home and created his fruit garden.  He grew peaches, cashews, water apples, and citrus trees. Some of these trees have a difficult time standing the tropical onslaught of ocean air.  The garden was tucked away beyond the palm groves past a creek with a sketchy ladder connecting us to the garden.

Old fruit trees covered with moss and bromeliads

The Shah loved his peach trees and today several of them can be seen growing around the island in random areas.  Eventually, the Shah became sick and died.  His garden forgotten and left to the demise of Mother Nature.  His belongings were passed onto his daughter who then sold the island for one dollar to the Smithsonian Institute. Or so the story was told.  Today the island is protected by UNESCO.  The Shah's home is now a research station for scientists from all over the world to stay.  Today's guest was a researcher from Germany studying sharks around the reef area. Two men are working to keep several areas tidy. Several buildings have fallen apart and are reminders that there were others who once lived here.

The Jesus Christ lizard.  Why this name?  Because when it flees for safety, it will run across water on two legs. If you haven't seen this, you should youtube it.  It's really cool.

The fruit trees are overgrown with bromeliads and moss.  Many of them look terrible....especially the citrus trees. Mosquitos are everywhere. I stand among the trees and watch all the birds flying around the branches.  Several water apples are ready to pick, but no one is there to harvest the fruit. The owner dead.  And the image is eery giving me a moment's pause. What will our gardens look like after we're gone and no one is there to tend them?  More tomorrow......

Stranded

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:)

A Prisoner's Dilemma

My favorite pic from this series.  A former cell with an old shower are reminders that a prison once existed.

Considered the "Alcatraz" of Panama, Coiba island for many years was a penal colony held only for the most dangerous of criminals from the country.  Unfortuneatly, it was also reserved for those on the wrong side of Panama's political struggles.  There were even cases of people who were framed for another man's crimes.  Only one truth was certain. Coiba island was not a place you wanted to end up.

The buildings now from our boat.

The prison began in 1914 and remained open until 2004 when it closed its doors.  An unintentional thing happened. Fear, from the mainland, kept people away from the island known for its' captive killers, rapists and thieves.  In fact, there had been stories of people vacationing off the beautiful waters of Coiba island on their sailboats who were found murdered by prisoners attempting to escape.  These rumors and stories kept Coiba island free from deforestation and other outside interests.

Sandwich Terns

Back on the island, many prisoners would "disappear" from either one killing the other or prison officials executing them on the spot.  Two similiar stories were told to me by both our guide and another local from Santa Catalina.  A prisoner was forced to climb a coconut tree where he was shot and killed by a prison guard.  This was a common place occurence among both prisoners and the administration.  Today, these undocumented criminals are called, "los desaparecidos" or the missing. Gravesites can be found on the grounds taken over by the forest.

If an opportunity presented itself for escape, prisoners would try to flee on rafts created from the jungle.  Most of these prisoners would drown and die from starvation and dehydration.  Due to the strong current near the island, criminals sometimes would be found near the Galapagos islands.  And every once in awhile, a prisoner would make it to the mainland, but locals not recognizing the person in rags, would call officials right away.

Food was given through the bars and water was piped in through the walls.   A farming area was created around the penal colony for prisoners to make their own food.  Cattle, pigs, and chickens were raised along with corn and other vegetables and fruits.  Some people were innocent of their crimes as they had been framed for whatever reasons which included being on the wrong side of the political table of dictators like Manuel Noriega.  These people were given a bit more freedom and allowed to work outside and move about the island with less restriction.  Today, one of those former inmates works as a park ranger for ANAM.  He even has a coral reef named after him!  Great guy with lots of information!  At one point, the colony held around 3000 prisoners.

Today, the island is a UNESCO site protecting not only the island but the marine corridor between Costa Rica's Coco islands to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.

I had expected the area to be dead with empty buildings falling apart.  But it appears that the prison may be wiped completely off the island as Panama is creating a navy patrol station for the drug runs that are happening in large numbers from Colombia.  This was actually quite interesting.  At night, drug runs on high speed boats fly at a high velocity past several patrol areas.  If the Panamanian navy catches these vessels on the water, the drug runners will sink the vessel and hide out in the Coiba rain forest where they will be picked up later when no one is watching.  These drug runners are trained in jungle operations and many times have high tech equipment pieces like GPS which helps in their rescue.  Today, it appears that the US and Panama may be getting rid of the entire prison area to use  for a base.  Several buildings have already been renovated.  Not only does Coiba face this drug issue but now, since the prison has been shut down, poachers are entering the island in certain locations.  I believe this base will be good for the entire area.  Currently ANAM does a great job monitoring  the seas around Coiba and has a plan in effect for large fish vessels who try to illegally poach large quantities of marine life from the water.  Local fishermen will report any odd vessel activities off the waters of the Pacific ocean to ANAM or local Panamanian officials.  In return, they are allowed to fish within the limits and regulations agreed upon by the national park system and fishermen around the waters of Coiba.

Our trip to this part of the island was really interesting and quite beautiful.  The buildings were haunting with marks from prisoners on the walls.  You may wonder if this Navy base will cut down more trees to expand on the old penal colony.  Well the answer is a definite NO.  They are only allowed to work within the area that was used for the prison.  Everything else is to be left alone. 

While I was there, I got the impression that Coiba was well protected and will be around for future generations to enjoy.  In its final days, prisoners were the run of the mill thieves, murders and rapists serving their debt to society by farming and ranching the island to provide for their own existence. Today most of the cattle are gone and very little remains of this colony.  Secondary vegetation has taken over the land and is erasing mankind's marks from the island.  Eighty percent of this paradise is untouched, but that percentage is rising with the penal colony gone.    

I'm not sure if these building will be kept here once the Navy starts adding more buildings or if they'll keep a few buildings for historical reference. I'm thinking they will convert the jail cells to lock and hold captured drug runners and poachers. 

If ever there was a feel good story about the preservation of an island untouched by humankind, it's Coiba.  With the eventual addition of the Navy base to stop illegal drug trafficking, local fishermen watching out for poaching in the ocean water, the Smithsonian observing and studying the wildlife, and ANAM maintaining security around the island, it appears that this place is secured and in good hands.  Until tomorrow.....

The Coiba Island Experience

Greetings everyone!  Here is the million dollar post from our Panama trip on Coiba island.  This was the most expensive and yet amazing experience we had in Panama.  It was worth every penny.  I wrote about our investigation on Coiba island several months ago.  We had also done some research on the Darien Gap.  Both would have cost around the same amount of money and both offered similiar experiences.  However, we were travelling during the rainy season and most of the Darien would be inaccessible due to flooding trails.  We then began to focus our attention on the biologically diverse island of Coiba.  80 percent of this large island remains untouched with pristine primary forests.  It's one of the last places in Panama to view colonies of the Scarlet Macaw.  There's even a species of howler monkey that is endemic to this island only.

It started from the tiny surfing village of Santa Catalina.  We found a guide by the name of Javier who runs a place called Casa Kenia.  He runs a great program that took us several nights to the beautiful and isolated island of Coiba.  Accommodations were okay on the island.  We did have a/c for a couple hours, but it ran on generators and eventually, the unit would shut off at 2 in the morning:)  I must make this note because it's very important to know before going.  Having ANY accommodations were better than none in this very beautiful national park.  But because it was a little rough, some birders will dislike this place because they physically can't hike the trails or have difficulty getting in and out of the boat.   So I offer this advice.  If you are thinking about going to Coiba Island, make sure you bring water shoes of some kind and spare clothes which should include some good hiking boots to walk the sometimes muddy trails.  Don't forget sunblock and your camelback for water!! It is a primary rain forest and has its challenges at times, but thanks to Javier, we had a fantastic experience on the island.  A lot of it is unexplored botanically and guess what?  The Smithsonian own the tiny island known as Coibitas to monitor this park and protected marine area.

I promised wild monkey shots...not good ones.....but here they are.  This little white faced Capuchin monkey was throwing mangos at our building in the morning.  I moved quickly with my camera in hand to snap several shots off before he moved too far into the tree tops. The bottom pic looks like the mysterious BIG FOOT picture taken awhile back.  I laughed at how this monkey walked from one section of rain forest to the other.  Some people believe it's easy to spot wildlife, but I'd like to say that it's one of the most challenging things to do as an amateur photographer.  The wildlife is all around you, but you have to really look and listen to see all the wonderful critters.

My case in point.  Where is the monkey in the trees of this picture? 

Pic taken by my friend Jen Inboden

So why did Panama leave this island in such a pristine shape?  Quite simple.  They placed a penal colony here which accounts for a small portion of the islands deforestation.  The vegetation is growing back as the colony is shut down.  No more prisoners live here anymore.  You may think of this place as the "Alcatraz" of Panama.  Many people were afraid to come here because several prisoners had murdered locals who accidentally wandered onto the wrong island.  I'll tell that story in a few days.  But because Coiba Island had this reputation on the mainland of Panama, it was protected unintentionally by killers and murderers......with a positive outcome for Mother Nature and for human kind! A potential algae that grows around the waters has been recently discovered to fight cancer.

The island is large with flowing rivers full of animals.  It's difficult to get inside the interior and we had only scratched the surface.  One side was completely off limits as the tides and currents of the ocean made for a dangerous ride.  Instead, we were able to visit the calmer side of things within one of Panama's most beautiful and sacred coral reefs. Coiba Marine Park is considered one of the top ten reefs of our world.   Several smaller islands surround this larger one.  It's possible to have whale and dolphin sightings here.  While on this trip, I saw many large sea turtles swim around the reefs. And birding.....well, there's a lot of them to see here as well.   The beach above was an entrance to a secret trail full of old and twisty vegetation.  Monkeys had recently walked on the beach leaving their fresh tracks behind in the sand.

Not all rain forest is the same.  People want to know what primary or secondary forest means in person.  Well after walking around in primary pure virgen rain forest, I will never forget how incredibly cool it was.  Twisty gnarly vines connected mammoth trees together.  And there was a soothing presence about it all.

Iguanas galore on Coiba island. 

It's difficult picking out the massive amounts of green pics and determining which shot will be posted on the blog.  For me this post was the most difficult because I had to choose which pics best represented what I saw in the forests.  Here is an example of the viny ancient look of Coiba.  In fact, Coiba is known as one of the viniest rain forests on this Earth.  It has a unique look. 

It wasn't uncommon for vines to connect or take over entire trees.  Vines would come from the ground....the air.....water.......basically anywhere they could cross; they would. I loved the bark of this tree on the pic below.  Moss and lichens covered many of the trees in Panama which added a lovely green tone to the brown bark.

This is a saltwater crocodile below.  A special post will be released in November on this guy, but for now, here's a pic. What? You want more now?  How about a clip on him on the last day of the month?  I have a fantastic video showing this guy in all his glory on August 31st.  We had to be careful swimming in certain areas around the island.  These guys are pretty territorial so you won't find many concentrated in one area, but there are usually a couple lurking around the waters.  When we went swimming, we always kept our eyes open for floating logs because that's what they looked like in the ocean waters. 

Saltwater crocodile

This reptile fascinated me.  He also scared me a bit as I had never been close to one before.  I've seen alligators and caiman but nothing prepared me for the size of this creature....15 feet long!!

As I walked the beach, I noticed something in water.  I hadn't paid attention to the signs, but it stated that crocodiles live in these waters and that visitors should keep their eyes and ears open.  Traveller note. Always keep your eyes and ears open in wild national parks:)  Luckily I had followed that tip and spotted this guy in the water.  I had been snapping shots of birds in the mangroves nearby.  Crocodiles are fast. Traveller tip two.  If you should ever be chased by one on land, make sure you run zig zag. 

It wouldn't be right to post all these pics without including a shot of the agouti. Apparently, Coiba island has their own variety of this rodent, but I couldn't tell the difference. 

I'll have more shots and views for you from this amazing journey to Coiba Island and surrounding areas.  I think I have broken down the topics into some interesting areas that you'll find fascinating.  Some are on plants.  Some are on gardens.  And some are on reflection.  Either way, I hope you enjoy this mini series.  If you have the 500 to 600 dollars and time for this week stay, I  highly recommend it.  It isn't a trip for the faint of heart, but if you have energy and endurance, this place will capture you imagination.  Like Gamboa, it was difficult saying good-bye to an area not travelled by many people.  In fact, most Panamanians were excited that we were going to the island and stated that they wish they could visit.  Most travellers wanted to go but didn't have the money to do it....especially the backpackers.  Speaking of backpackers, we met two of them on this trip.  They went to Coiba on their own which was much cheaper, but they didn't have a guide or a way back.  It was difficult for them to get a view of the entire island and were limited to just a couple of trails from the ANAM station.  It was by luck that we came along and were able to bring them back to Santa Catalina.   I recommend a guide so that you get the full experience of the islands because it's a definite must see for your bucket list! PS.  Javier is a birder:) Until tomorrow....

http://www.casakenia.com/

Coiba Island

Do you like mysteries?  I certainly do.  It's been awhile since I've written one of these posts, but you have to ask yourself, "Why would someone do this?" or "How did this happen?"  A penal colony was placed on an island in a tropical virgen forest! Today, during my research into the beautiful country of Panama, we stumbled on some information that grabbed our attention. And I want to know more!  The pics and info below are not my own, but we are investigating some great places to visit over the summer and this one has our team's interest.  It also seems a cancer fighting compound was found on Coiba from a plant indigenous and found only on this island.  The report was made public last month that a "Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, has yielded Coibamide A, which is extremely active against cancer cells; Veraguamide A, an anti-cancer compound named after Panama’s Veraguas Province."

Some of you may or may not know this, but we are going to be traveling to Panama this summer and during our investigations we've set up several awesome mini-trips within the big trip.  Don't worry as I'll be recording everything.  We have scored a week with the turtle conservation program in Bocas and will be in Gamboas on Pipeline road for some amazing bird and plant finds.  We'll be taking an amazing train ride to Colon and flying to the tropical islands around the Bocas area!

Unfortuneatly, the Darien Gap will not happen due to extremely rainy weather which put an end to the speculation of whether or not we'd do it.  During the month of June, when we'll be there, it rains constantly and the paths are not accessible.   Our trip begins June and will end the first week of July.  I have my writing all scheduled until August and then some:)  There's a lot to report.  I opened a world of endless possibilities by starting this blog.  Two major things that have my attention right now is our work with the turtle conservation program in Bocas and this fascinating island off the Panama Coast.  It's called....La Isla Coiba.

"The Coiba National Park (CNP), located in the Southeastern part of the Republic of Panama, encompasses over 2,700 square kilometers of islands, forests, beaches, mangroves and coral reefs. Among the spectacular marine and terrestrial environments of the CNP is Coiba Island, the largest uninhabited tropical forested island in the Americas. Eighty-five percent of the forests of Coiba Island are primary and almost untouched, serving as a haven for birds and mammals found nowhere else on Earth, as well as for species that have largely disappeared from the mainland. The CNP is one of the greatest remaining natural treasures in Panama. The remarkable preservation of Coiba Island is largely due to its use as a penal colony since 1920 - the prisoners have served as a strong deterrent to colonization by peasants and to the extraction of the island's abundant resources.

Penal Colony established on this lush tropical island away from the mainland

Due to the pristine nature of the island and its surrounding oceans, it was declared a National Park by the Panamanian government in 1992. But the situation in Coiba is changing radically as the government begins to close the island's penal colony. From a high of three thousand prisoners, there are now fewer than 100. Panama's National Authority of the Environment (known as ANAM) does not have the resources to protect a park of this size, particularly one that is 26 kilometers from one of Panama's most impoverished provinces. It is crucial that institutions and individuals coordinate with ANAM as well as local communities to design and implement strategies that will lead to the protection of this remarkable natural heritage.

Archaeological findings on various parts of Coiba Island indicate that the island was the site of Precolombian settlements whose populations are assumed to have disappeared shortly after the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century (Quirós 1971). Coiba Island was designated as a penal colony in 1919 and from that point up to the present, the island has remained largely uninhabited except for an inmate population that has ranged from 100-1000 prisoners and the police force assigned to guard them. Aside from a stretch of land that has been designated for agricultural use to supply food for the inmates, the impact of the penal colony on the rest of the island has been insignificant (Ibáñez 2001).

Coiba Island and the surrounding waters are an extraordinary repository of biological wealth. Coiba Island is a refuge for 147 bird species, including twenty-one endemic species and subspecies. Equally important is the island's role as a refuge for species that have largely disappeared from the rest of Panama, such as the Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis) and the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). Scientists have registered a total of 36 species of mammals, a number of which are found nowhere else, such as the Coiba Island Agouti (Dasyproctae coibae) and the Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata coibensis); the latter is considered to be at high risk of extinction. The main forest types on Coiba Island are tropical moist forest, very moist premontane forests, and stands of mangroves. Remarkably, most of the interior of Coiba Island is still unexplored botanically.

Preliminary botanical surveys of Coiba Island suggest that there are around 1,450 species of vascular plants, only half of which have been identified. These studies have already resulted in the discovery of an entirely new genus, endemic to Coiba Island, Desmotes (family: Rutaceae). The authors of the most recent study reported, "We do not doubt that a more detailed study will yield many more endemic species." Nowhere is the richness of the Coiba National Park more splendid than in its marine environment of 2,165 square kilometers, much of which is unexplored. The CNP includes the reef of Bahia Damas, the second largest reef in the eastern Pacific covering an expanse of 160 hectares. Reefs such as Bahia Damas have evolved under harsh and unusual circumstances, and studies of their adaptation to assaults such as EI Niño events will be of great value.

There are four whale and dolphin species that frequent the CNP, including the Killer Whale, the Humpback Whale, the Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, and the Bottlenose Dolphin, while another nineteen cetaceans visit the CNP occasionally.

It is a common practice throughout Panama for peasants to invade unoccupied lands, which are then cleared for housing and subsistence activities. The Coiba National Park is part of the province of Veraguas, the most impoverished of Panama’s interior provinces. While the presence of ANAM park guards will clearly provide an impediment to colonization by rural peasants, upon removal of the penal colony, the risk of invasions by peasants will be enhanced.

Commercial logging also poses a threat since Coiba Island has valuable hardwoods such as Anacardium excelsum, Calophyllum longifolium and Manilkara sp. which have long since disappeared from the Pacific slopes of the nearby provinces of Veraguas and Los Santos. The capture of Scarlet Macaws ( Ara macao ) for commercial sale is also a potential threat.

There are currently on Coiba Island approximately 2,029 head of cattle, 70 horses, 18 pigs, 200 dogs and 15 buffalos which belonged to the inmates associated with the penal colony. Due to the danger they pose to the island’s native flora and fauna, ANAM is currently considering options for their removal.

A study was undertaken in 2001 by participants from STRI and Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in order to; (i), assess the impact and nature of illegal fishing activities in the park, (ii), to assess the fishermen’s knowledge and attitudes towards the Coiba National Park; and (iii), to develop strategies for incorporating local communities into the design, implementation and management of marine resources. The survey was carried out in fourteen fishing communities in the Gulf of Chiriquí and two commercial ports with shrimp fishing fleets. The study revealed which communities fish most frequently in the park, the fishing methods employed, the species caught (including unintended bycatch), attitudes towards the conservation of the Coiba National Park, and other issues (Moretti 2002). Six communities and ports were identified as having a significant impact on the park’s resources. Working in collaboration with Panamanian NGOs, community outreach efforts and environmental education programs are currently underway in those communities.

There is widespread fishing by commercial shrimp boats. Long lines and nylon gill nets are widely employed by local fishermen. Other fishing activities include extraction of conch and lobster. The survey results are consistent with the observations of recreational dive operators who have seen marked decreases in the number of sharks, billfish, rays, groupers and snappers over the past four to five years, the same time that commercial fishing operations increased in the Coiba National Park. Significantly, the fishermen that fish in the Coiba National Park’s boundaries showed a universal ignorance of the park’s true boundaries. Despite the extent of illegal fishing within the Coiba National Park, the survey indicated that many of the fishermen were supportive of the concept of a national park: fully 67% of the fishermen from the communities mentioned above, as well as those from the largest commercial port for shrimp fishermen, responded that the Coiba National Park was “a good thing” (Moretti 2002).

Located in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Coiba National Park is off Panama’s Pacific coast. Coiba National Park (Nacional Parque Coiba) is a group of 38 islands including Coiba Island (Isla Coiba) and the waters surrounding them and covers 430,825 acres.
Identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2005, Coiba National Park offers rich and well preserved natural resources.

Because Isla Coiba served Panama as a penal colony, access to the island was very restricted. Almost by accident, 80% of the islands natural resources have survived untouched and flourished through limited human contact." End of article.
Source:  http://www.coibanationalpark.com/

Sounds like a place to explore and learn more about. This will be the first official trip to be recorded with the blog in mind.  Until tomorrow with more back to reality stories:)