Barro Colorado Island & Gatun Locks, Panama
On our last day of exploration, this morning we continued our trip to Barro Colorado Island (BCI). At sunrise we still enjoyed the mystic mist of the rainforest. We had the privilege of being the only marine vessel allowed to split its transit into two days. At breakfast Dr. Leigh and the BCI guides came onboard to give us an introduction on the importance of the island. Then we boarded the Zodiacs and proceeded with our expedition on and around BCI.
Barro Colorado is an island in the middle of the Panama Canal. It lies midway between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea (9 degrees 09’N, 79degrees 51’W). At about 15.6 km² (6 square miles), BCI is the largest island in Gatun Lake, a lake created from 1911 to 1914 by the damming of the Chagres River to complete the Canal. Gatun Lake is by far also the largest expanse of water in the Canal, covering 420km² (164 square miles) at an elevation of about 25m (85 feet) above sea level. The ship channel traversing the lake passes along the eastern and the northeastern shores of the island.
In 1923 BCI was set aside as a biological reserve and is currently supervised by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which operates a modern field station and laboratory clearing, on the northeast shore.
On our walks and the Zodiac rides we enjoyed seeing white-faced capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, some beautiful birds, giant trees and a huge tarantula. After visiting the gift shop, some of our younger guests received the Lindblad Zodiac pilot training which prepared them for future Lindblad Expeditions.
We started our descent to the Caribbean Sea in the Gatun Locks before our farewell dinner. We finished our trip at the Port of Colon and with that we closed a memorable week aboard the Sea Voyager.
On our last day of exploration, this morning we continued our trip to Barro Colorado Island (BCI). At sunrise we still enjoyed the mystic mist of the rainforest. We had the privilege of being the only marine vessel allowed to split its transit into two days. At breakfast Dr. Leigh and the BCI guides came onboard to give us an introduction on the importance of the island. Then we boarded the Zodiacs and proceeded with our expedition on and around BCI.
Barro Colorado is an island in the middle of the Panama Canal. It lies midway between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea (9 degrees 09’N, 79degrees 51’W). At about 15.6 km² (6 square miles), BCI is the largest island in Gatun Lake, a lake created from 1911 to 1914 by the damming of the Chagres River to complete the Canal. Gatun Lake is by far also the largest expanse of water in the Canal, covering 420km² (164 square miles) at an elevation of about 25m (85 feet) above sea level. The ship channel traversing the lake passes along the eastern and the northeastern shores of the island.
In 1923 BCI was set aside as a biological reserve and is currently supervised by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which operates a modern field station and laboratory clearing, on the northeast shore.
On our walks and the Zodiac rides we enjoyed seeing white-faced capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, some beautiful birds, giant trees and a huge tarantula. After visiting the gift shop, some of our younger guests received the Lindblad Zodiac pilot training which prepared them for future Lindblad Expeditions.
We started our descent to the Caribbean Sea in the Gatun Locks before our farewell dinner. We finished our trip at the Port of Colon and with that we closed a memorable week aboard the Sea Voyager.
