BCI, Panama Canal, Panama
Today we woke-up in the morning cruising the waters of the Panama Canal, on the way to our morning stop at Barro Colorado Island better know as BCI.
But our trip actually started yesterday when we got on board the Sea Voyager in Colon. After the mandatory safety drill and orientations on the part of the ship’s officers, we headed over to start our passage of the first three set of locks of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side. These locks are named Gatun after the lake to which they lead. Lake Gatun is at 85 feet above sea level and it is there where we anchored after seeing the canal lit and in full splendor.
This morning we picked up anchor and made our way to BCI, one of the mountain tops that became an island when the Chagres Rive Valley was flooded in 1914 creating Gatun Lake. Shortly after in 1923, Barro Colorado Island became a biological refuge, and in 1946, its administrations were given to the Smithsonian Institution. For the past 80 years, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has been conducting research becoming one of the most well studied tropical rain forest in the world.
After breakfast, we went on different hikes and Zodiac cruises to take a look at this scientific Mecca to learn about the research taking place at the moment in the island and to see some of the methods used in gathering data. This was our first encounter with some of the fauna. We saw howler monkeys, white throated capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, toucans, Central American agoutis, and trogons among other specimens.
The Panama Canal pilot came on board after lunch, and we proceeded into Culebra cut making our way into the other three set of locks that lowered us 85 feet. By dinner time, we made our entrance into the Pacific Ocean.
Today we woke-up in the morning cruising the waters of the Panama Canal, on the way to our morning stop at Barro Colorado Island better know as BCI.
But our trip actually started yesterday when we got on board the Sea Voyager in Colon. After the mandatory safety drill and orientations on the part of the ship’s officers, we headed over to start our passage of the first three set of locks of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side. These locks are named Gatun after the lake to which they lead. Lake Gatun is at 85 feet above sea level and it is there where we anchored after seeing the canal lit and in full splendor.
This morning we picked up anchor and made our way to BCI, one of the mountain tops that became an island when the Chagres Rive Valley was flooded in 1914 creating Gatun Lake. Shortly after in 1923, Barro Colorado Island became a biological refuge, and in 1946, its administrations were given to the Smithsonian Institution. For the past 80 years, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has been conducting research becoming one of the most well studied tropical rain forest in the world.
After breakfast, we went on different hikes and Zodiac cruises to take a look at this scientific Mecca to learn about the research taking place at the moment in the island and to see some of the methods used in gathering data. This was our first encounter with some of the fauna. We saw howler monkeys, white throated capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, toucans, Central American agoutis, and trogons among other specimens.
The Panama Canal pilot came on board after lunch, and we proceeded into Culebra cut making our way into the other three set of locks that lowered us 85 feet. By dinner time, we made our entrance into the Pacific Ocean.
