After having a brief run-in with the local police patrol boat upon arrival, we've finally settled down on the southeast side Coiba Island, and it is gorgeous. Apparently we failed to properly "check in" with the park office before entering Coiba waters, so the police told us to head back to the office immediately. It was well after 3 pm at that point and the weather was starting to look somewhat bleak. We politely asked permission to check in the next day, but were told by the 3 militia-looking fellows this was not possible. Sweeeeeeet. They were all dressed similar to the Panama City immigration officer that didn't care for my shorts, bearing machine guns and all. I was a bit more concerned in this particular situation as the park police patrol these waters for poachers, Columbians, and drug traffickers, instead of enforcing a dress code at the local immigration office. So, we headed out for the park office which was a good 3 hours away. Of course the weather got worse and we were unable to navigate our way into the bay where the office is located. The rain and wind kicked up, and the visibility was next to nothing. We were forced to anchor behind a small island adjacent to the bay, and not check in as the gun-totting police told us to. We weren't sure if they would come looking for us, so we obviously didn't sleep too well that night.

We woke up at first light the next morning and made our way into the office, to be greeted by the most friendly bunch of Panamanians in the world! It was as if they were happy to see us and our interest in the island. We spoke to a nice man who spoke some English, paid our nominal fees, and headed back to the original anchorage. What a fiasco.

Coiba island was formally used as a penal colony, but has since been converted to a national park with protected rain forests, rivers, and coastline. It truly is a wild place with fruit trees lining the beaches (coconut, orange, grapefruit, passion-fruit), healthy coral reefs offshore, and best of all, wild crocodiles in the rivers! Obviously we had to get a closer look at the crocs, so we ventured up Boca Grande river this morning in the dingy. What a trip it was! We saw 3 wild crocodiles in their natural habitat, tons of wild birds, adolescent sharks, and gorgeous surrounding jungle and mangroves. The river runs almost 4 miles inland with many tributaries and fingers to explore. We spent almost 5 hours exploring the area, taking photographs, and wondering what was under the little rubber dingy. Fortunately the crocs we saw were 4-6 feet, so we weren't too terribly concerned. We did, however, see the tracks in the sand of what appeared to be two large ones.

Tomorrow we plan to head up a different nearby river in search of more crocs and possibly visit the ruins of the penal colony. Hopefully all the prisoners made it off the island because I'm not about to give up my berth, and surely not split our already dwindling beer and milk supply. I simply won't do it.