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Something that allowed to keep the island uninhabited, thus conserving its great natural wealth, was a part of Panamanian history. Between 1968 and 1989, during the country's dictatorship, a penal colony was built that became a kind of concentration camp for political prisoners or anyone who opposed the regime.

Many were the cases of people who entered the prison and lost their lives or who escaped but could not swim to the coast. In 2004 the prison was demolished and the island was declared a national park and protected area.

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The wonders that we find in Panama are not only on the coast that overlooks the Caribbean Sea; The Panamanian Pacific also has fascinating natural places such as the Isla Coiba National Park. On our last trip to Panama, we went to see this island that, due to its great marine wealth, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005.

This island is part of an archipelago with the same name that is located very close to the coast of the province of Veraguas, in the Gulf of Chiriquí. In this group of islands of volcanic origin, Coiba is the largest in the Central American Pacific.

The great natural and marine wealth that we find in the Coiba archipelago, including its location, is part of the so-called Marine Corridor of Conservation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific that, together with other islands such as Coco Island in Costa Rica, Malpelo and Gorgona in Colombia and Galapagos in Ecuador, they conserve a unique biodiversity.

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Coiba National Park can be reached by air from Panama City to Santiago City in 20 minutes, or by road (245 kilometers) in 5 hours. Once in Santiago, take the road (25 kilometers) that leads to Puerto Mutis, to move by sea to the island. This transfer will depend on the weather conditions and the type of boat used, in a speedboat and in good weather. the trip can take around two hours otherwise about six hours. To visit Isla Coiba, it is important to obtain prior permits from the Ministry of the Environment.

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The Coiba National Park offers attractions such as beaches, diving and fishing along its entire coastal perimeter. The very fine sands and the transparency of the water are the characteristics of the beaches, such as Playa Damas and Playa Blanca in Isla Coiba as well as those that can be found in the islands of Granito de Oro, Ranchería, Uvas, Contreras among others. From any island within the Park, a day can be organized to practice diving or simply for fishing, an activity that is internationally recognized in the Coiba area for its species such as merlin. In island lands there is a variety of flora and fauna for nature lovers including turtle nesting in the beach areas.

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The Coiba National Park is located in the Pacific, south of the Province of Veraguas, and with an area of ​​270,125 hectares it protects marine, insular and coastal ecosystems. Within this Park are the insular areas of Isla Coiba, Ranchería (Coibita), Jicarón, Jicarita, Afuerita, Canal de Afuera, Uvas, Contreras and Brincanco (153,582 hectares), as well as marine areas (216,543 hectares), which also in one of the most extensive marine parks in the world and its continental shelf.

Coiba, with 49,300 hectares, is the largest island in the American Pacific, due to its geographical isolation a penal colony was established there in 1910, which still exists today, a situation that has favored maintaining the forests of this island in an unaltered state.