Text by Mary L. Peachin with photos by Mary Peachin and Diego Mejias
December, 2012, Vol. 17. No 3
If back rolling into a four knot current, grabbing a submerged buoy line, then descending a hundred feet onto a seamount covered with anemone-covered black coral—one frequented by schools of various species of tuna, amberjack, and other pelagics—appeals to you, then read on. M/Y Yemaya Captain David Spell would later comment, “If you see the buoy under the surface, don’t jump in.” But more about the diving later. It was our visit to Coiba’s infamous penal colony that brought a unique prospective to our diving trip.
Imagine being jailed on a beautiful tropical Eastern Pacific Island. The cells had minimal security, but the sharks surrounding the island quelled any desire to escape. The island has been called the “Alcatraz” of Central America, and compared to Papillion’s Devil Island.
Our shore visit to Coiba’s penal colony, built between 1903 and 1919, was led by a former twelve year inmate named Mali Mali (which translates to Skinny Skinny). Not so skinny anymore, he did his time for armed robbery. For the past twenty years he has worked for Anam, Panama’s Park Service.
Located in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama’s Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, comprises a 1,700 square mile island. Uninhabited and remote with endemic land and marine species, the island would have remained unnoticed had it not been for the establishment of its penal colony.
Surrounding waters offer divers pelagic action, although sharks are not found in the same abundance as Costa Rica’s Cocos or Columbia’s Malpelo islands. On the other hand, Coiba National Park is approximately three hours by boat from Panama’s southeast coast. Divers have the opportunity to view endangered species and smatterings of vibrant coral reefs without having to motor frequently rough seas for two days. And unlike Malpelo, there are calm nightly anchorages.
Coiba National Park’s marine protection area covers almost 2,000 square miles. It includes the renowned sport fishing destinations of the island of Montuosa and Hannibal Bank, a sea mount rising from 6,000 to 150 feet below the ocean’s surface.
Tropical Eastern Pacific location, which also includes the Cocos, Malpelo, and Ecuador’s Galapagos, is the center of five converging oceanic currents. Every six hours, there is a sixteen foot tidal variation. Proximity to the continental shelf creates deep open ocean conditions and nutrient rich waters. It is these conditions that attract pelagics that are not usually seen close to shore. The diversity of marine habitat includes deep water volcanic sea mounts, drop-offs, shallow coral reefs, and rocky mangrove island shores scattered with estuaries.
Ancient tropical rain forest, surrounded by 150 miles of coastline, hosts almost 2,000 species of exotic plants. Rivers, the longest being fourteen miles long, provide a natural mangrove habitat for caiman and American crocodile.
Coiba National Park is home to one of the largest flocks of Scarlet Macaw as well as nesting sites for the rare and illusive Crested Eagle. Whales sighted include humpback, finback, pilot, orcas, and sperms.
Dating back to 2000 BC, the Chibcha, a Central American mountain tribe, built fishing camps on the island. In intertidal zones, ancient fish traps can occasionally be sighted. Chiriquí, Varela, Burica and Osa, considered to be head hunters, were alleged to have used skulls as drinking vessels. Archeologists have found evidence of settlements in caves and along river banks. It is thought that the name Coiba was named after Chief “Quibo”.
In 1516, Spaniard Bartolome Hurtado, described the natives being “of large stature and speaking a local “Guaymi” dialect.
By 1550, Spanish invaders, like most indigenous people of the Caribbean, were exterminated or enslaved to mine gold in Darien, a region of Panama’s mainland.
Coiba Island remained uninhabited for centuries. In 1919, the penal colony was established. A total of twenty camps incarcerated as many as 2,000 prisoners. Prison time was spent working in rice fields or farming fruit, vegetables, and cattle. In 2000, the prison closed.
For the past few years, the penal colony has been undergoing renovation to attract tourists. There are two small primitive cabins currently available and tours can be arranged. Most visits come from scuba divers.
Seasonable, nutrient rich waters have extremes in visibility, salinity, nutrient levels and sea surface temperatures. Thermoclimes at various depths can reduce water temperature to 70F degrees. This cooler water brings the larger pelagic life closer to the surface.
Dive sites range from protected inshore reefs to more advanced sea mount diving. The majority of sharks observed are bottom dwelling white tips, barracuda, jacks, snapper and schooling reef fish. The underwater volcanic landscape offers seldom seen hard and soft corals.
M/Y Yemaya’s route included motoring several hours from its anchorage in the Amazon-like Rio San Pedro to reach the Pacific and then another hour to Isla Afuerita. Schools of jumping devil rays welcomed us to Coiba. Uninhabited Coiba has anchorages at Isla Brincanco, which is part of Isla Contreras, Canal de Rancheria, Isla Fejol or “Frijoles”, Ensenada Hermosa along main island of Isla de Coiba, and Isla Jicaron.
For the diver, Coiba is a deep, open and sometimes rough blue water opportunity to view dense schools of tuna, jack, mullet, golden rays, and, perhaps, a rare sighting of a billfish. Add jellies into the equation including stinging “strings of gold” and mid water tunicates or salps. At depth, thick plankton darkens the water.
Coiba, according to divemaster Diego Mejias, is “totally unpredictable diving. It’s like buying a box of assorted chocolates and not knowing what you are getting.” During a day when several giant mantas soared above, followed by a three foot green turtle, I also spotted a tiny nudibranch.
At Christina’s reef, when not distracted by swirling schools of blue travally and spade fish, I saw my first adult rock mover. Juveniles appear like horned leaves moving sideways. Despite having a population of seahorses, gobies, frogfish, and other small critters, Coiba is not a destination for macro lovers.
Coiba provides some excellent diving in sometimes challenging conditions including colder water with strong currents. But, Panama is easy to reach, does not cross many time zones or any date line, and it, uniquely, offers the penal colony.
If you go: