Volcanic in origin, surrounded by mountains and a refuge for whales, Gorgona Island is a natural gem that emerged from the remains of a sinister prison that instilled terror in Colombia.
The country’s largest island in the Pacific Ocean, at 44 km², was famous for the prison it housed for two decades.
Today, however, it is a natural park formed by two islands – Gorgona and Gorgonilla – with black gravel, colorful reefs, dense forests and exuberant fauna, with temperatures around 30 °C.
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Check out some information and fun facts about the place below:
1) The achievement
The Spanish landed there in 1526 and named the island San Felipe. Francisco Pizarro, the “conqueror” of the Inca empire, named him Gorgona, the dangerous Medusa of Greek mythology.
The island was first a haven for pirates in the region, before being ceded in the 19th century by Simón Bolívar to an Englishman who participated in the wars of independence.
In the late 1950s, the Colombian state expropriated the island from its private owners to build a maximum security penitentiary.
Gorgona is part of a migratory corridor for marine fauna and birds, which includes other islands in the region, such as Galapagos (Ecuador), Malpelo (Colombia), Coiba (Panama) and Cocos (Costa Rica).
2) sinister prison
Colombia’s most dangerous criminals were confined in Gorgona, subjected to torture and ill-treatment. In 1984, the prison was closed due to pressure from human rights groups and environmentalists who wanted to protect this piece of virgin nature.
Gorgona is on the “green list” of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature for its sustainability model.
A few dozen people live on the island year-round: park employees, employees of the only hotel, a diving instructor and military personnel.
Despite having become an area of permanent preservation, the island still faces several threats, such as “the coastal erosion of some beaches; issues relating to warming waters and rising sea levels, to which the island would obviously be very vulnerable,” says biologist Christian Díaz.
Furthermore, even if it is not visible at first glance, “the pollution by microplastics is real”, adds the expert. Alcohol and disposable plastics are prohibited in the area, but the beaches suffer from garbage brought in by the sea.
3) Biodiversity
Gorgona became a national park the same year the prison was closed. Its protected area covers almost 62,000 hectares, 97% of which are marine areas of special care, explains one of the park’s employees.
There are 500 varieties of land plants, including many orchids; 380 of fish; 19 from sharks; 41 of reptiles (18 snakes); 167 birds (brown boobies, pelicans and frigates), and about 15 mammals, including sloths and capuchin monkeys. There are also 14 types of bats and the blue Gorgona lizard, an endemic species that is unique in the world.
A few meters from the coast, humpback whales play in an area of 12 km where, in theory, fishing and navigation are prohibited. Sea turtles, tuna, barracudas, hammerhead sharks, dolphins, horsetails, stingrays, groupers and moray eels freely swim along its coastline.
“Gorgona has two ecosystems”, summarizes the park’s director, Santiago Felipe Duarte: “the humid tropical forest, of which there is still a lot to study, and its exceptional marine ecosystem, with the best-preserved coral reefs in the Colombian Eastern Pacific” .
The snakes that inspired its name hide in the undergrowth. Jararaca, coral snake and sea serpent, for which there is no antidote for their venom, are the most dangerous.
The prison, in turn, has already been almost swallowed up by vegetation, but “continues to attract visitors”. However, its relevance is much less than the “exceptional biodiversity” that the island has, stresses Duarte.
Visited by just 3,000 tourists a year, the park is ideal for spotting whales, diving among the diversity of fish and enjoying the coral reefs. “Whales learn to sing here. Listening to them under water is enchanting”, says the director.
4) Drug trafficking
Colombian law enforcement maintains a small contingent in Gorgona. In 2014, the island was the target of a spectacular incursion by the extinct FARC guerrilla, which led to the park’s closure for two years.
Gorgona is situated on a drug trafficking corridor that runs north. “Sometimes, at night, you can hear the traffickers’ engines on the high seas”, admits one employee.
However, “compared to other parks in the country, the island is a small haven of tranquility”, says the director.
At the top of the mountain, a radar against drug trafficking is being built. “We just hope that Gorgona remains a special place where people come to meet themselves, to get to know themselves. A place for spiritual renewal”, concludes Duarte.
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