Panama Canal & BCI
Our final day of the expedition and here we are halfway through the Panama Canal. We anchored at Gatun Lake just in from the Gatun Locks, a set of three consecutive chambers that lower ships from the Gatun Lake 85 feet down to the level of the Atlantic Ocean. But before heading that way, and even before breakfast, we weighed anchor and went over to the biggest man-made island on the lake, created by the flooding of Gatun Lake during the construction of the Panama Canal. This island is better known as BCI (“Barro del Colorado Island”) and has been a biological reserve since 1923. By 1946 it became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institute and a research station. For that reason this is one of the most studied pieces of Neotropical of forest on earth; most of the books or articles about neotropical forests mention BCI and its long term research and data base.
And this morning we got our chance to see a scientist’s playground. During breakfast we got a visit from one of the researchers and after a small introduction to the area we split up in different hikes and Zodiac excursions. What a morning we had! We not only learned about some of the research taking place on the island right now and saw some of the gear that the scientists use to get their data, but we also got some good looks at howler monkeys, bats, toucans, and even a northern anteater!
We spent the rest of the day crossing Gatun Lake and the final locks of the Panama Canal on our way to the Atlantic Ocean with a beautiful, sunny afternoon.
Our final day of the expedition and here we are halfway through the Panama Canal. We anchored at Gatun Lake just in from the Gatun Locks, a set of three consecutive chambers that lower ships from the Gatun Lake 85 feet down to the level of the Atlantic Ocean. But before heading that way, and even before breakfast, we weighed anchor and went over to the biggest man-made island on the lake, created by the flooding of Gatun Lake during the construction of the Panama Canal. This island is better known as BCI (“Barro del Colorado Island”) and has been a biological reserve since 1923. By 1946 it became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institute and a research station. For that reason this is one of the most studied pieces of Neotropical of forest on earth; most of the books or articles about neotropical forests mention BCI and its long term research and data base.
And this morning we got our chance to see a scientist’s playground. During breakfast we got a visit from one of the researchers and after a small introduction to the area we split up in different hikes and Zodiac excursions. What a morning we had! We not only learned about some of the research taking place on the island right now and saw some of the gear that the scientists use to get their data, but we also got some good looks at howler monkeys, bats, toucans, and even a northern anteater!
We spent the rest of the day crossing Gatun Lake and the final locks of the Panama Canal on our way to the Atlantic Ocean with a beautiful, sunny afternoon.
