After a busy day yesterday, which ended perfectly with our transition through the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean coast of Panama, we found ourselves this morning anchored in the man-made Gatun Lake. This lake is 85 feet above sea level, and is our destination for this morning’s visit—the also man-made Barro Colorado Island, or BCI. BCI is a world famous research station of the tropical rainforest, and is run by the Smithsonian Institute. A substantial chunk of what is known about the tropical rainforest has been gathered here.
This morning there was a colorful rainbow under a light rain. As we went to the outer decks we could see the nearby lush green forest, and we could listen to all the different calls of the many birds waking up. Among these calls was also the deep-low pitch of troops of howler monkeys, notorious for their extremely loud booming calls.
It was quite a surreal sight, with the peacefulness of the thick green hills interrupted regularly with gigantic ships seemingly coming out of nowhere. Which was a reminder of where we were!
The morning was spent either walking the same network of trails used by scientist or by taking a leisurely ride around the perimeter of BCI and the nearby islands. All of our groups where escorted by very knowledgeable BCI naturalists to do the interpretation. We saw active agoutis walking the forest floor, close-ups of troops of howler monkeys, and sleepy crocodiles basking at the river’s edge.
For the afternoon and after a delicious lunch onboard National Geographic Sea Lion we continued our adventure in time traveling, by going through the second leg of our transit in the Panama Canal. The canal is indeed an important part of modern human history: “A masterpiece of engineering built to last,” as was once said by the Panama Canal expert David McCullough.
It was a thrill to sail by all of the iconic places, such as Culebra Cut, Contractors Hill, to go under the new Centennial Bridge, with the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks leading us to the Pacific Ocean. We went under the Bridge of the Americas as a gateway into the Pacific, and for all of the rest of adventures waiting to be discovered.
