Barro Colorado Island & the Panama Canal
We arrived yesterday on board the M.V. Sea Voyager to begin our journey in both Panama and Costa Rica. As we made our way onto our vessel, we are pleasantly surprised this evening with the boarding of our Panama Canal pilot unusually early. While we all got acquainted with our home away from home for the week, we also moved towards the first half of the Panama Canal transit. We began crossing the Gatun Locks, the locks that would raise us 85 feet above sea level into the Gatun Lake. Nowadays the lake is number four on the list of the largest man-made lakes of the world, but no one can deny that it is one of the most well-known.
We slept on the ship in the lake last night, and the morning found us anchored just off of the laboratory buildings of Barro Colorado Island. This island was once a hilltop, which was transformed into an island when the valley was flooded to create the Canal’s most important water source and storage, Gatun Lake. BCI, as the island is known, is one of the most important research centers in the Neotropics, as it produces large numbers of biological, ecological and ethological papers written by some of the most renowned scientists. The research station was created in 1923 and has accumulated information and basic data on animals, plants, and ecology in general since then. We are lucky enough to be able to walk through its trails or take a Zodiac ride along the island’s edge. Whatever choice we took this morning, we were rewarded with great sightings of monkeys, crocodiles, birds and insects.
Once back on board, we headed to the other half of the canal transit. Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks lead our way into the Pacific Ocean, where the rest of our trip will develop. Tomorrow we will start our adventure in the Eastern Pacific.
We arrived yesterday on board the M.V. Sea Voyager to begin our journey in both Panama and Costa Rica. As we made our way onto our vessel, we are pleasantly surprised this evening with the boarding of our Panama Canal pilot unusually early. While we all got acquainted with our home away from home for the week, we also moved towards the first half of the Panama Canal transit. We began crossing the Gatun Locks, the locks that would raise us 85 feet above sea level into the Gatun Lake. Nowadays the lake is number four on the list of the largest man-made lakes of the world, but no one can deny that it is one of the most well-known.
We slept on the ship in the lake last night, and the morning found us anchored just off of the laboratory buildings of Barro Colorado Island. This island was once a hilltop, which was transformed into an island when the valley was flooded to create the Canal’s most important water source and storage, Gatun Lake. BCI, as the island is known, is one of the most important research centers in the Neotropics, as it produces large numbers of biological, ecological and ethological papers written by some of the most renowned scientists. The research station was created in 1923 and has accumulated information and basic data on animals, plants, and ecology in general since then. We are lucky enough to be able to walk through its trails or take a Zodiac ride along the island’s edge. Whatever choice we took this morning, we were rewarded with great sightings of monkeys, crocodiles, birds and insects.
Once back on board, we headed to the other half of the canal transit. Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks lead our way into the Pacific Ocean, where the rest of our trip will develop. Tomorrow we will start our adventure in the Eastern Pacific.
