Isla Coiba Panama June 2001

As we exited the airplane in Panama, we were greeted by two lovely natives of the country who quickly escorted us through customs, ahead of what appeared to be more than a 2 hour wait. We were whisked passed checkpoints and other red tape, directly to what seemed to be the Crown Room of the airport. Once there, we were greeted by Luse who gave us a wealth of information about her country.

While we waited, we were served drinks of our choice while our checked baggage was collected for us and delivered to a van waiting for us outside.

We were then driven to our hotel, Ceasars Park in downtown Panama City. Accommodations here were first class. The hotel hosts 5 fine restaurants, a casino, several small shops for electronics and clothing, a health club with all the amenities, a pool with poolside bar, a computer room for internet access, tennis courts, a small aviary park and koi pond. Here we spent the night and awaited an early departure the next day.

Our luggage was loaded onto a tour bus where we met the other divers we would be spending the week with. A great crew from Florida, Michigan and our gang from Atlanta. Everyone hit it off immediately as we were driven to a smaller airport in the city to take our short 1 hour flight to David ( dah-veed ), Panama.

Once in David, our luggage was transferred to another tour bus, where we had a short 5 minute drive to the Marina where a majority of the Coiba Explorer fleet is docked. Once again, our luggage was carried to one of the 10 28’ chase / fishing boats in the fleet. We boarded two chase boats, and the 2 craft motored from the marina for a 1 hour ride to the Coiba Explorer II. On our way, we were treated to a beautiful cruise through jungle waterways that led from David to the open ocean. We were introduced to Bartolo, one of our two chase boat captains for the week, while we worked out way to the CEII. A healthy storm followed us out from the mainland and gave us an incredible lightning show as we neared our destination. Funny, the exact same thing happened to us last year when we motored out to the CEII.

Soon we could see the CEII anchored just off Isla Paridas.

Once we boarded the CEII, we were led to the top deck where the Bar / outside lounge resides. There we were introduced to Charlie Greer. He them proceeded to give us a short talk on the boats safety features and procedures, as well as a short tour. He then turned us over to our two dive masters, Kieron (Ki) and Kevan, two fine gentlemen from the UK who now reside and dive in Panama. Ki and Kevan talked to us about the dive procedures, safety protocols and our expected dive profiles for the week. They explained to us that our average dive depths would be 90 - 100 feet. Excellent!

We then proceeded back to the top deck where lunch awaited us. We ate spiced chicken with yellow rice, fresh fruit and juices. A quick note here about the food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner each day were outstanding. The food was cooked from scratch by Irina. Each meal was unique and extremely flavorful. Each one balanced to give you plenty of energy for the dives ahead.

While we ate, we met one of our two waiters for the trip. Edwin waited on us literally hand and foot the entire trip. These guys were top notch. You couldn’t go 10 seconds with an empty glass or plate before he was right there asking you if you wanted more.

After lunch, we proceeded to our cabins where we found our luggage waiting for us. After unpacking, we carried our dive gear to the dive deck. From this point on, if we so desired, we never had to touch our dive gear again except when we were going under. The dive masters and the chase boat captains would set your gear up on your tanks and carry them to the chase boats. After you board the chase boat and drive to the dive sites, they would put the gear on your back for you, and you’re ready to dive. If you are the type who likes to do all this yourself, they are more than willing to accommodate you. After & between dives, they would pull the gear from your back and switch it over to your next tank for you.

A note on the diving. All of the diving done on this trip were pinnacle dives. Since the entire island chain is volcanic, each dive site is a pinnacle rising from 6000+ foot depths to the 100 - 130’ range. Because of this, you are diving terrain that is unlike anything seen on the Carribean side and most of your depths are greater than 90 feet. Landscapes out here are very dynamic and defy description. I tried my best to get some of the samples of the dramatic appearance of these pinnacles and how they appeared from underwater.

After each dive, you spend your SIT time fishing. Each chase boat is fully outfitted for deep sea fishing, and the captains are quite adept.

This map shows the sites we stayed, travelled through, or dove near. Our journey starts in Panama City, then took us to David, then to a small marina. From there, we motored to Isla Paridas to meet the CEII. We motored from Isla Paridas to Isla Ladrones ( Island of Thieves ) where we did our first dive. Apparently this island got its name from the fact that it was a common meeting place for pirates and slavers several hundred years ago.

After that, we motored to Isla Coiba and dove from Punta Playa Hermosa, Isla Rancheria and Isla Contreras. I highlighted Isla Jicaron, as it is normally dived as part of the trip. Captain Charlie told us that Jicaron was suffering from poor vis and was not an ideal spot to dive. We took his word for it and had a blast at the other sites. Check out the map below for our tour.

Click here to see pictures of our Manta rescue/encounter.

Click here to see pictures of our safety stop encounters.

Click here to see pictures of random critters we saw.

Click here to see surface pictures.