Daily Expedition Reports
Barro Colorado Island

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  • Daily Expedition Reports
  • 27 Jan 2020

Barro Colorado Island

  • Aboard the National Geographic Quest
  • Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia
The sunrise at the middle section of Panama Canal was a spectacular way to start our morning. The sounds of mantled howler monkeys and yellow-throated toucans were part of the melody going on at Barro Colorado. Barro Colorado is critical for research in the area, and scientists from all over the world come to study the numerious species that call this island home. It is held as one of the best studied tropical rainforests in the world, led by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute since 1923. The trails show not only a great biodiversity of flora and fauna but also a complex of small laboratories and sampling sites in the field. We learn about stingerless bees, bats, and the incredibly industrious life of ants occupying the tree canopy. A second group around the island on Zodiacs. The shore of the islands is equally rich with wildlife, and the group managed to spot several crocodiles and birds. The morning went fast, and we now wait for our Panama Canal Pilot to complete our transit.

Article by

Walter Perez, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor

Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with them and knew then where his future home would be.

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