This morning we got up early and prepared ourselves to go up Bocas Grande by dinghy. Bocas Grande is an inlet on the southeastern side of Coiba at the edge of Bahia Damas which is about 2.5 miles from where we are anchored. Our chart shows it to be at least 3.5 mile long with several little tributaries and small rivers flowing into it. It is also completely surrounded by rainforest. The park rangers told us there are crocodiles up to 14 feet in it, so we were totally excited about exploring this pristine wilderness on our own.

Our dinghy is 11 feet long and inflatable with and a high pressure inflatable floor and a 9.9HP Yamaha outboard. We loaded it up with cameras, sunscreen, bug spray, binoculars, water, etc and headed out. The seas were very calm so we made good time to the mouth of Bocas Grande. We had to go out around a portion of the reef because the tide was still coming in. We wanted to explore on a rising tide so we did not get stuck for a tide cycle in some isolated pool. It was a squally day with waves of showers and wind separated by patches of blue sky and fairly warm (i.e. no shirt required in the rain).

We made our way in to Bocas Grande, which was way more beautiful than I had imagined. Initially it was white sandy beaches with coconut palms and then increasingly dense mangrove lined shore backed by very dense and tall rainforest: vines growing on towering trees lined with smaller bushes and the occasional palm. We knew we found the right area when we saw large crocodile tracks and slide marks on one of the beaches. The tracks were about 2 feet apart which probably translates in to a fairly good size crocodile. As we headed deeper into the waterway the rainforest closed in around us and wound through a narrow cut a couple hundred feet high on both sides and about 75 feet across. The water was deep here and fairly clear. We shut off the outboard motor and let the current from the tide carry us upstream for a bit. It was a nice silence broken often by the shrieks from tropical birds, holler monkey screams, and tail slaps in the water as we approached. It smelled nice too, very fresh and there were no bugs bothering us.

The mangroves were fairly dense and obscured the shoreline most of the time. Lots of crabs crawled along their branches and birds hung out in their tops. There were lots of little tributaries off each side of the main channel. We kept going. After we passed the narrow cut the land opened up into a valley with very dense mangrove marshland. The water forked here and we decided to explore the right branch first. We motored up the winding narrowing mangrove lined channel at speed. Occasionally, we would stop the dinghy to either remove leaves which had fouled the prop or listen and look for crocodiles and other wildlife. After a couple of miles it was getting to narrow to continue planning so we idled the dinghy until it was just too dense to continue.

We headed back and went up the left branch of the channel. This channel was shorter but took us closer to the edge of the marsh. It rained on us for a few minutes several times and then would clear. We explored several little side tributaries off the main branch but still no crocodiles. After another hour of winding through dense mangrove lined waterways we headed back to the fork. We saw a vulture hanging out on a mangrove top which looked pretty scary with it feather-less head. We also saw a bunch of red-tailed macaws burst from the tree tops in to the air shrieking away as they went.

Not seeing any crocodiles or further signs of them we decided to head back to the beach where we saw their tracks and anchor there to see if they would come back. On a whim we decided to shut down the outboard in the narrow cut we had passed previously and just enjoy the noises. Andrew and I were talking and joking around as we drifted. All of a sudden, Andrew froze and very quietly and rigidly said, "Chris there is crocodile right behind you."

Quietly, I opened up my digital camera, which was strapped to my wrist, slowly turned around so as not to spook it and began shooting video. I will post the whole video as soon as we get somewhere with internet. The video is pretty funny and amateurish, we were both kind of surprised and excited. The croc is not huge but probably 6 or 7 feet long. It was so cool, as it watched us and then slowly and silently swam away into the mangroves.

Later we saw little black tip reef shark feeding in the mangroves (pictured above) and another crocodile with it mouth wide open on shore. Unfortunately we could not get a picture of the latter as it moved into the water while we were setting up. We explored some other side channels and then went back to the beach where the fresh crocodile tracks were, but our tide window was closing so we had to leave. On the way back both of us were ecstatic to have an opportunity to explore somewhere this wild completely on our own with no one else around. It makes me feel good that places like this still exist and that the Panama National Park protects this wilderness carefully but allows the common person this kind of access. Coiba is awesome!