Panama Canal & Barro Colorado Island, Panama
An overwhelming number of impressions awaited us on the Sea Voyager upon arrival. We started the transit through the Panama Canal and the Gatun Locks elevated our ship 85 feet. Once on the Gatun Lake we dropped anchor to spend the night. Sunrise found us on the way to Barro Colorado Island (BCI).
Water was considered the most valuable resource of a rainforest. To protect the watershed, vast extensions of rainforest have been saved from human destruction. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) is considered a pioneer and one of the leaders in tropical research. There is now awareness about the fact that there are other wonderful resources in the rainforest, such as the forest itself and the health of the air we breathe.
We went on different walks and boat rides at BCI where we saw mantled howler monkeys and white-throated capuchins, three toed sloths, great tinamous, crested guans and keel billed toucans among many more species. Our first wildlife experience of the trip was a great introduction to the tropics and a wonderful opportunity to learn about the different unthinkable research that takes place on the island.
We were back on board as we cruised to the last part of our transit of the canal through Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks down to the Pacific Ocean and we continued to our next destination: The Farallon Islands. We enjoyed the cocktail hour at the sundeck during a wonderful sunset in the rich waters of the bay of Panama where we had our first sighting of an elusive whale.
An overwhelming number of impressions awaited us on the Sea Voyager upon arrival. We started the transit through the Panama Canal and the Gatun Locks elevated our ship 85 feet. Once on the Gatun Lake we dropped anchor to spend the night. Sunrise found us on the way to Barro Colorado Island (BCI).
Water was considered the most valuable resource of a rainforest. To protect the watershed, vast extensions of rainforest have been saved from human destruction. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) is considered a pioneer and one of the leaders in tropical research. There is now awareness about the fact that there are other wonderful resources in the rainforest, such as the forest itself and the health of the air we breathe.
We went on different walks and boat rides at BCI where we saw mantled howler monkeys and white-throated capuchins, three toed sloths, great tinamous, crested guans and keel billed toucans among many more species. Our first wildlife experience of the trip was a great introduction to the tropics and a wonderful opportunity to learn about the different unthinkable research that takes place on the island.
We were back on board as we cruised to the last part of our transit of the canal through Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks down to the Pacific Ocean and we continued to our next destination: The Farallon Islands. We enjoyed the cocktail hour at the sundeck during a wonderful sunset in the rich waters of the bay of Panama where we had our first sighting of an elusive whale.
