The last morning of our journey woke us up with the sounds of the howling monkey troops and the keel billed toucans croaking on the tree tops. Established in 1923, Barro Colorado Island, known as BCI, has been one of the leaders of Neotropical Forests’ Research; along with La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica and a Manaos Station in Brazil. BCI is currently supervised by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. At about 15,6 km² BCI is also the largest island inside Gatun Lake, which was formed between 1911 and 1914 by the damming of the Rio Chagres to form the Canal.
This biological station has recorded data on flora, fauna and climatic patterns of the island and its surrounding/adjacent areas, for the last 94 years. Anything from ecology, phenology, mycology, behavior and demography of bats, monkeys, birds, ocelots, agoutis, etc, are still in existence; these allow the modern scientists to - through their own data - compare patterns or measure changes and variations. The island is almost exclusive to scientific elite; and we are some of the few non-scientist visitors allowed into its trails.
We have the incredible opportunity of walking either the trails or taking an inflatable boat ride in the lake with their local experts. Both options were well rewarded: monkeys, agoutis, crocodiles, army, bullet, Aztec, and leaf-cutter ants, stingless bees, skinks and whiptails, and very many species of birds were amongst the spotted wildlife. Our guides also lead us into the world of scientific field research and let us know about many of the incredible studies held in the island: canopy research, howler monkey demography and behavior, solitary bees, social wasps, geology, paleontology, frogs and lizards, bats and tapirs, climate change, El Niño phenomenon, etc.
We went back on board for a well-deserved lunch and to take a break from the tropical heat. We waited for our third pilot to come on the ship to lead us through the final passage of our journey, the Gatun Locks; which would take us to the final destination of the week, the Port of Cristobal.
